Code 00
by NorthEasternSpirit
Summary: A top secret government program specializes in modifying genetically unstable Eeveelutions to carry out powerful missions. When three of them go rogue, it's up to the others to capture them. A web of betrayal and lies stands between them, and there's no telling who is actually right. Kylie is a Glaceon spy who joins the program, but she is immediately put to the test...
1. Chapter 1

**CODE 00**

They say that some things are simply meant to be. Simply meant to exist. There is a balance in nature, a balance that shouldn't be tinkered around with. Every Pokemon has a limiter, a limit to their power, a ratio if you may. Even the most powerful of us have access to only a limited part of our powers. Sure, we all access it differently and have different limits. Even a weak Magikarp operating at 100% energy cannot come close to a legendary Pokemon operating at even 30%. It's unfathomable.

But for most of us, the power of legendries is far closer to our reach than we realize. Or realized. How safe is it, really though? Is it ethical? Is it logical? Is it fathomable? That's for you to decide.

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**CHAPTER ONE: SNOW BLUE**

She always thought it was an ironic name for an ice type like her to have name like Kylie. Kylie was such a friendly, happy, outgoing name. It would fit her Leafeon sister Aria better. But they had chosen their own destinies on their own, and Kylie wasn't one to object to it. Most Glaceons wouldn't make a huge deal about much, though new research had suggested that evolution would massively affect your personality.

The automatic sliding glass door moved out of the way as she stepped through into main hall of the government facility. Her marine blue boots clicked softly against the marble floor. Her lighter blue dress trailed gently behind her, interrupted only by her tail.

The gaze of some researchers embarrassed her, and she looked at the ground, doing her best to avert the attention of the other Pokemon.

Then she finally stepped out into the streets outside. The fresh spring air was nice, but she did wish it was somewhat cooler. She held the large envelope to her chest, then looked around.

"Come on, Aria…"

As if on cue, her energetic sister drove up in her bright green convertible. "Sheesh, I went around the block about three times." She peered up from behind her sunglasses.

Kylie shook her head slightly. How could two Pokemon from the same womb be so different? Aria was feisty and tomboyish, wearing a leather jacket and a pair of tattered jeans. "I just had to get the files. You sure don't take our work seriously."

Aria clicked her tongue. "Hey now, I take my job very seriously. It's my day off." She elbowed Kylie as the Glaceon got into the car. "You should take more days off. We get paid the same, even though you work an extra day each week."

Kylie looked out the side, and felt a tug as the wind blew her ears and bangs in the wind. She looked down. "Uh, my dress is caught in the door a little…"

"Too bad sister. You wait until we get home."

Kylie sighed. "Come on, this is one of my favorites."

Aria snorted. "All the guys look at you anyways. It doesn't really matter if you have a tear in that dress."

A twenty minute drive eventually led them to Kylie's apartment. She quickly opened the door, freeing her dress.

Aria chuckled. "Jeez, that dress is everything to you, huh?"

It wasn't really, but Kylie did like it. It had been one of a kind. "Not really. It's probably my favorite for casual though."

They took the elevator up, Kylie holding the important documents carefully. Nobody got in to their ascent to the fourth floor, and Kylie and Aria walked into the hall. Aria whistled a tune, though Kylie couldn't place where it was from.

Once they went into Kylie's apartment, Aria threw herself onto the couch, while Kylie began boiling water in a kettle. She clicked on the stove; tea was one of the few warm things she enjoyed. Aria peered out the window, looking over the city. The clock read 4:17. Aria tossed her glasses onto a glass table and rubbed her eyes. "All right, pull out those top secret papers and everything. Seriously, who would have thought that they'd just let us carry top secret information out the door?"

The envelope was next to Kylie. She looked at the kettle that wasn't hot yet, then opened the envelope. She sat down next to the sprawled out Leafeon.

"Look at this. They're profiles… except."

"Let me see. I… huh." The Leafeon had snatched them from Kylie's hands. "They're blank. The first one has all empty information except for name, in which it says, 'Codename 01.' Huh. Same for 02…" She flipped the page again. "And 03." She turned the page again. "But 04… there's a complete profile. An Espeon."

Kylie skimmed through the profile. "Jasmine Jade… age… 18. Eye color… height… bust… birthplace…" She frowned. "Why would something like bust really matter for a report?"

The Leafeon shrugged. "I don't know, maybe for identification? Who knows?"

Kylie nodded slightly, then read through. "It says Code 04. What does that mean?"

Aria looked up thoughtfully. "I need to pee. I'll be back."

Her sister was always crude and often inconsiderate, but Kylie still loved her, especially since they were both orphans. They had been all the other had for twelve years now. She watched the Leafeon go down the hall, then looked back at the papers. "01… 02… 03… 04… and 05. There's five of these so called codes. But 4 of them are seemingly deleted. And…" She saw a note written in sharpie.

_Kylie… I'm… sorry._ She froze when she saw the handwriting, followed by the name after. _Grant._ Aria hadn't returned yet, so Kylie took the time to stare at it. "Grant… how… you… you shouldn't be…"

She took a deep breath. Did she know another Grant? There must be some logical explanation. But she couldn't think of one. There was only one Grant, and she had been to his funeral. Kylie calmed herself. "I'll go talk to Professor Blaze tomorrow. It's probably him."

"Who's probably who?" Aria peered over her shoulder. "You look distressed Kylie, like you've seen a ghost."

Kylie shook her head. "Don't worry. It's not something that matters."

Aria's voice became gentle. "I know you. Something is very wrong."

Kylie tucked the files into the envelope. "I think I picked up the wrong ones. I'll return it tomorrow."

"Kylie…" The Leafeon stared at her sister worriedly as the Glaceon walked to her shower.

"I'm just tired."

Aria got the message, and Kylie heard the door close as her sister left.

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"Sheesh, you're looking out of it, Kylie." Her best friend Jen sat across from her at Kylie's favorite restaurant. "I know you only have like four facial expressions, but you look like you've been hit hard by drugs or something."

"I'm fine."

Jen leaned back worriedly. The Sylveon looked like some sort of Pokemon magical girl. She had ribbons and a pretty pink and white dress. Her pink hair and long white ribbons were accented by her large Buneary-like ears. "You don't get out much, aside from your sister. Are you sure you're not seeing a guy or something?"

"No."

She sighed. "I know that eons like us are encouraged to find others due to our sheer rarity and preserving the whole 'genetic integrity' thing, but really. A pretty girl like you should have a guy."

"You know how busy I am with work." Kylie stirred her tea, and poured some honey. "How has it been going with that Flareon?"

The Sylveon smiled slightly. "Good. He's a great guy. Really impressive overall, and handsome, and strong, and just nice."

"That's great news!" Kylie did her best to smile, trying to ignore the disturbing note she had received. She kept thinking about how it must have been a mistake, but the handwriting had been so similar. "I'm really happy for you, Jen."

She blushed. "Thanks Kylie. How's your work been going?"

"Oh, fine." Kylie leaned over after checking to make sure nobody was watching. "I got a strange envelope today…" Before she knew it, she had told her best friend all about what had happened.

Jen sipped her drink. "It's not surprising really. You're obviously hallucinating. You were romantically involved with him, no?"

"See… that's the thing. We never were. Grant and I… well, Aria too… we went to the same orphanage. He was always protecting us from the bullies at school and at home, and… I loved him. In a brotherly way." She held her head. "I know, a trained worker like me shouldn't be worried, it's probably something else, but…" Quietly, she murmured, "What if he is still alive?"

Jen was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm telling you this as someone who has access to almost all Tier 5… classified information…" She shook her head. "It cannot be Grant. I'm… I'm sorry."

Kylie sighed. "So it's just a prank? A cruel joke?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Thanks." Hearing that made Kylie feel a lot better. "It's better this way."

Jen smiled. "I know life hasn't been kind to you… but you've been doing great and… the higher ups are really pleased with the information you bring back."

"Thanks… I always forget you're one of the head representatives publically for the city… you converse directly with the directors."

"Hey, for my best friend and one of the top spies nationally, it's nothing."

Kylie sighed. "I know this is a government only dining facility, but could you please keep it down? It makes me uncomfortable."

Jen nodded. "Of course, of course."

The Glaceon yawned. "It's late. What did you want to talk about?"

"I've got no knowledge of that note on the envelope, but… that envelope sent to you contains some information that…"

Kylie brought it out. She looked towards one of the nearby conference rooms. "There."

The two girls moved into the more secure conference room.

"I was looking through the Tier 5 files… there were a bunch of holes in what I could go through, but one of them was particularly large." She crossed her arms. "Please let me see the files."

Kylie handed it over. "I've only got Tier 4 classification, so if they let me see it, there's nothing wrong with you. It's all mostly empty though. There is only one profile."

"Jasmine… I see… I wonder if they want you to track her."

"I don't know… this is really obscure. It's true I haven't had any assignments in the past month though."

Jen fanned through it one more time. "I'll do some research on that name, just out of curiosity. Thanks."

Kylie stood up. "There was something else, no? It's strange for you just to ask me for one thing."

"Oh yeah, I traced some other… uh… information?"

"On what? It's probably not too important."

"Well, you see…" Jen slid her phone to Kylie. On it were the pictures of two Pokemon. "Do they look familiar?"

Kylie couldn't speak. "That picture… how did you get it?"

"I was looking through some files. The names… well, I remembered you talking about your parents."

"This…" She shook her head. "What's going on? First… now… it… it makes… no…"

"So it is them…" Jen stood up now, and took the phone back. "I'll look into it more, Kylie. I just needed to confirm whether it's really worth looking into."

The Sylveon walked out the secure room, and Kylie didn't say anything. "This… what in the world… is going on?" She held her head, and sat down, then took deep breaths, as she had been trained to do when stressed. "Calm down Kylie… there's a logical explanation for all this. Just think…"

It was simple. The government had information on everyone, including her late parents. And the message… well, she'd ask about that. She was simply reading into it too much though. That was the logical explanation.

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"Is that really all you've got?"

Kylie avoided the stunning gunshots in the training facility. She sidestepped the final shot gracefully, spinning around.

A voice rang on the speaker. "Actually, yeah. This is the highest reasonable difficulty, Kylie. Turning it up any more would… well, this is your cap." Behind the glass, programming the guns was Professor Blaze. "You've been trained for all these years, and are one of our top agents. But there's only so much physical abilities can do." The computer made a beeping noise, and he added, "You're currently 11th ranked, not bad for someone not designed for hand to hand combat." The Typhlosion adjusted his glasses. "You've never passed level 25 difficulty. Do you think you're up for it?"

"What's the highest?"

"One of our agents cleared… let me see… level 33. That has a shot concentration of 180."

"What's level 24's concentration?"

He looked at the computer. "Roughly 115."

"Really…" She sighed. "That's unbelievable."

"Well… they weren't competing fairly." He stood up. "Anyways, we're starting level 25. Three… two… one…"

Time slowed down as Kylie saw the flash as the small beams of lightning came from the cannons, locking onto her position. "Let's go… duck under…"

She did as she said aloud, moving neatly underneath the blast. "Spin to the left… there you go… perfect."

When she had whipped around, she saw a pair heading for her feet, and another for her head. She grit her teeth, and leapt through the barrage, barely avoiding the shots.

She rolled along the ground, then looked up. "Dammit…" She felt her body go numb as she was hit in her right thigh.

Then she was back in time, her combat instincts fading.

"Ten seconds, Kylie." He pressed a switch, and Kylie regained feeling in her leg. She rubbed it a little.

"That's all… I've got a lot of work to do…" She stood up. "What do you mean by those above didn't complete fairly? Hackers?"

"Yeah, most likely."

Kylie bit her lip. "Why don't you delete the scores if they're not actually existing?"

The Typhlosion smirked. "That's a secret."

Kylie changed back into her dress, which was identical to yesterday's, except that the light blue and dark blue was inversed. She didn't mind changing in front of the professor, since he was quite a bit older than her. He had helped her throughout her training, and acted as a fatherly figure towards her. "Oh yeah… you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?" She pulled the envelope out, containing the information. He took it from her, and put it under a magnetic tool he had been adjusting over the past few days.

"It was mostly blank except for a few things. Mostly on an Espeon named Jasmine…"

He froze, then said, "I… I do know a little bit." He muttered something under his breath. "I wish they wouldn't get all of you young kids involved, but…"

"Is this the Code Zero program?"

"Code Zero is the newest line in genetically modified Pokemon. It's a project that very few get in on, but only the most talented are modified. Of course, there are limitations. Only those from Eevee's evolutionary line are applicable, due to your unstable genetic structure. But it's not that simple. It's all about potential unlocking."

"Potential… unlocking?"

"Most Pokemon only use 30% or so of their max potential. By fooling around so to speak, we enable them to operate up to 87%."

"So Jasmine…?"

He exhaled. "Jasmine was the fourth in line, and the first female we tested on. Jasmine was an all around agent that was sent to do anything in general. She was able to charm and disarm any man she came into contact with. She was an obvious first choice, especially since the males… well, she became the first successful experiment of the Code 0 project. She now boasts the speed greater than most Jolteons, and is likely smarter than the majority of Alakazams out there. 01, 02, and 03 all were males, being the tops of their class. They tended to go haywire, and we ultimately lost control of them."

"So why did you give me her information?"

He shrugged. "I'm not the one who issued it."

"Then who issued it?"

"The higher ups? It could be that-"

The lights began flashing red. Kylie looked around as alarms started beeping. "Wait, what's going on?"

The Typhlosion went back to his computer. "I… there's a power outage."

"But doesn't the government have backup generators to avoid this problem with all the computers and stuff?"

"Yes… but… even the backups are going down at an unnatural rate." He typed in a few things. He sounded as if he'd just seen a dead Pokemon. "I just saved your data and everything… take that envelope."

"You don't look so good…" She reached a hand out, but he stopped her.

"Kylie… those files. They're… they're magnetically imprinted."

"Really? So the other files are all…"

A voice came on throughout the entire facility. "Warning! Break in on the North wing! Species currently unidentified! Emergency power shutdown commencing in order to preserve file security!"

Then all the computers went out, even Professor Blaze's. "Let's get out of here…"

"Professor, this is the West wing. We'll head a little North, but hopefully, that won't-"

The entire facility began to rumble for a short period of time, before stopping. "That was the sound of part of the building collapsing…"

"Let's get out!"

The Professor followed Kylie's lead. "Only one minute, and already such destruction… who could it…"

A flash echoed through the dimly lit hallways. It subsided nearly instantly. "What was that?"

Blaze shook his head. "Let's just focus on getting out of here. It seems like some sort of high level terrorist attack."

"Kylie!"

She turned around to see Aria running through the halls, panting. "Aria! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine… just let me catch my breath… whew…"

"Good day, Miss Aria." Blaze nodded at her. "You look like you just came from where the explosion was. Can you explain it?"

"I… he…"

"What do you mean? Who's he?" Blaze spoke seriously. "You saw the terrorist?"

"Yes…" She took a deep breath. "A Jolteon. He wore a gray jacket. The guards were trying to fight him off, but they weren't doing too well. He was ridiculous fast. The quickest I've ever seen."

"Shit…" Blaze cussed. "I expected this would happen sooner or later. One of the cursed trio would return."

"What do you mean?"

"I know who it is. It's one of the Code Zero program, Zero Two. A Jolteon, given a mutation that gives him speed greater than any other Pokemon around. Also a professional hacker, which is probably what helped him drain the energy so quick. Not any electric type could do that."

"So he's one of the real strong ones?" Kylie blinked. "What could he be after?"

Blaze turned around. "We need to get you out of here, Kylie. You too Aria. It's extremely dangerous. You don't know what you're dealing with." He narrowed his eyes. "I suspect the magnetic information on that envelope is very important."

They hurriedly made their way through the halls. There were no other Pokemon around; most probably were locked within their rooms. "So you essentially trained the three top agents and they went rogue. And now one of them is coming back to try do a terroristic attack?"

"There's more to it than that," said Blaze. "But it was a massive oversight to keep the research continuing. Zero Four is the only one we managed to gain control of. Whether or not it's gender related or her slightly weaker dose is up for debate… I suspect she may be called out."

"Jasmine? Her? Well, I've never seen these mutant Eons fight, but this sounds very dangerous."

"I have no idea what you two are talking about," butted in Aria. "But the exit is right over there. Phew, it looks like we made it."

Then the glass door flashed before exploding. Kylie forming a wall of ice instantly was all that saved them from being impaled. When the smoke subsided, she saw him there; the Jolteon.

Spiky yellow hair, long pants, and a gray hoodie. He looked like any twenty-something year old Pokemon, but his green eyes glinted dangerously. "Hmph, Grant did say that he'd help us, but you look like you're planning to escape."

Before Kylie could process what she'd heard, the Professor stepped forward. "Aaron, move out of the way. I'm trying to get these young ladies outside. I don't know why you're here, but you're making a terrible choice."

"Tsk. Professor, don't make me the bad guy here." His hand glowed with lightning, thousands of volts crackling in the air. "Come on, girl. Hand over the files. It'd be a shame to ruin that pretty face of yours."

Kylie held it tightly. "You're crazy. Going against the government… all the innocent Pokemon you've put in danger bec-"

Then she was lifted into the air, powerful hands strangling her neck. "Listen up, bitch." He had seemingly teleported to her, and now was choking her. She couldn't breathe at all. "You don't need to remind me that." He ripped the envelope from her hands. He dropped her to the ground, the young Glaceon gasping for breath.

"Kylie!" Aria was by her side instantly.

Blaze turned to face the Jolteon. "Aaron, your plan won't succeed."

He calmly looked back. "You're not going to stop me. I…" Realization dawned across his face. "Oh, I see. Yes… that does make sense…" He smiled at the two girls. "I get the feeling I'll be seeing you two again… sooner than either of us would like, hehe."

"You're not going to be able to change anything. This plan of yours… it has holes. Revealing the secrets of the government."

The Jolteon turned around. "Who said it was my plan?"

"What?"

Kylie was still very dizzy, and the entire world was a little hazy. Then the Jolteon jumped to the right, getting partially hit by a large chair. It flew past him, grazing his leg. "Hmph."

Out of the darkness stepped the Pokemon they had seen in the pictures. She was beautiful Espeon, long pink hair, wearing very casual clothes; an orange cropped top denim jacket and a short skirt. Her eyes glowed pink, and her hair floated a little unnaturally. "Aaron…" Her voice was surprisingly menacing. "What could you be doing here?"

"Hmph, Jasmine. Fancy meeting another freak here." He was clearly injured by her attack. "That chair hurt. You've gotten stronger with your powers."

"Strong enough to stop you right here."

"Perhaps. But telekinetic strength can only do so much compared to raw physical strength. Or speed for that matter."

He hurled a bolt of lightning at her, and she blocked it with a Light Screen. The smoke caused by the impact however blinded them all. When it finally subsided, the Espeon was standing there looking around. "Dammit! He got away…"

"Jasmine, are you all right?"

"I'm perfect professor… that Glaceon though, she doesn't look so good."

Then Kylie finally succumbed to the beckoning darkness.

**The rewrite of CODE 00 has begun.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO: JADE EYES**

"What's the damage?"

"She'll be fine… her windpipe sustained some minor damage, but it'll heal nicely."

Kylie recognized Aria as the first speaker, and Blaze as the second. A third voice entered the conversation. "Next time I see that electric type bastard, he'll pay for it." The voice wasn't angry, but it certainly seemed to be thinking. "He's going to be back, isn't he?" Kylie opened her eyes to see the Espeon turn around. She had her denim jacket on, and her arms were crossed. "Glaceon, are you all right?"

She nodded, though it was more painful than she expected. "Yeah." Her voice was a little dry. "Aria, could you get me some water?"

"Of course." The Leafeon stood up and got out of the room.

"So you're Kylie." Jasmine walked up, and looked down at Kylie, eyes gentler than she had anticipated. "That was very brave of you to stand up to Aaron. Not anyone can do that after seeing what he had done."

"I failed though…" She sighed, which was also painful. "So much for being the best spy."

The Espeon smiled. "You did good enough… Professor Blaze gave you a fake copy of the envelope."

"What?"

The Typhlosion walked up next to Jasmine. "I gave you a different envelope. I know he would have search the facility until he found the information, so we had to throw him off."

"So I was attacked for no reason?" She was understandably upset.

"Yeah… I'm really sorry. It was a precaution… if the documents get out of the facility… we'll all be in serious trouble."

Kylie exhaled, though it stung a little.

Aria came into the room, carrying a glass of water, which Kylie accepted gratefully. "Thanks, Aria."

Kylie turned around, then walked out of the room. "Professor, I'm going to head out. There's something about the attack that I didn't like."

He nodded, but the Espeon didn't look back. The Typhlosion turned around to look at the sisters again. He shook his head. "Ever since they escaped, she's been tenser. I suppose I owe you both an apology. I'll answer any question I can to the best of my ability. But before that… I'll explain each of agents. I'll start with Zero Two, also known as Aaron."

"That's the one who attacked us right?"

He nodded, then began speaking. "Aaron is middle one of the three of the first agents. Aaron was a technical agent; genius hacker, track star in high school. Naturally, he was used to get within enemy lines and disable any technology they had. Radars, lights, you name it, he would take it out. He was a specialist in this regard, but is also trained to be proficient in hand to hand combat."

Aria spoke up. "So he has military experience?"

"He does have some. He's been working for us since he was 18. Missions all over the world. Terrorist, infiltration, he's done it all. He's rather cocky and aggressive, and the DNA modification didn't help either. Psychologically, he's a little easier to predict though, especially since Zero One is so calculating and Zero Three is completely unpredictable."

"How do you even plan to stop them? So what if he's predictable, he's so quick that it doesn't matter. He could tell you that he'll punch you and there's nothing you could do to stop him," muttered Kylie.

Blaze shrugged. "Jasmine is doing well enough. Aaron will be back for the actual files, but she should be able to stop him again."

"Is it enough though? He's going to be prepared for her to attack him this time…" mused Aria.

Blaze didn't speak this time, and Kylie took it as uncertainty. "Do you know where they are all staying?"

"Zero One has never shown himself recently. He's probably the least active of them all when it comes to us. He's mauled a few agents in the past, but we've heard nothing about him in the past three months. As for Zero Two, he's always moving. We've lost track of where he stays two months ago though. He always managed to jam up our trackers. Zero Three pops up here and there, but he's all over the outskirts of the city. Basically, we have no choice but to try disable them when they come by us."

Kylie thought about it. "So you're essentially waiting to get attacked by your own creations. How ironic…"

"Can't we just transport those files? Isn't that simple? Or lock it up?"

"The magnetic imprinting is very delicate, so locking it somewhere is actually a risk, and it'd be easy for him to track it. And we can't keep it on the computers; it'd be way too simple for him to hack in."

"So you have to keep it directly in the facility?"

"Yes. There's not really another option. All we can do is try to defend it to the best of our ability."

"That's stupid. You've got one modified Espeon who's supposed to stop 3 modified Pokemon more potent than her?" Aria raised a hand. "That is dumb."

Thoughts raced through Kylie's mind. _We're eons, are we not? So therefore… _Her mind clouded with anger. She had hated feeling as vulnerable as the Jolteon had made her. He had embarrassed her. "Why don't we join the Code Zero program?"

"Kylie? Wait, don't…"

"Hmm… the top spy currently and a combat specialist… that could be great." He nodded. "It could work. I remember you used to be a skilled sword user, Kylie. And Aria obviously is a living weapon."

"Whoa whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves," butted in Aria. "This is a program we didn't know about until yesterday. I know you hate losing Kylie, but…"

"I want to crush that Jolteon," said Kylie. She kept her voice calm, but put the meaning in. "Make him pay."

"You think that I wasn't trying to push that?" Professor Blaze smiled. "That was ultimately the plan, but the attack yesterday forced us to rush in more."

Aria turned to Kylie. "I don't like this, Kylie. We should go out and talk about this."

"I've already got somebody who can discuss it all." Blaze snapped his fingers. "You there?"

"Yes, I'm here professor…"

In he walked, leather jacket, black jeans, spiky black hair, and crescent necklace. "Kylie, Aria."

"… Grant?"

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"Does it hurt to swallow? I heard that Aaron kind of crushed your neck."

Kylie didn't respond. The two sisters and Grant were sitting in a small coffee shop.

"You're a real ass, you know? We think you're all dead and now you're in front of us? I know the government does some shady stuff and all, but we cried for days and now you're in front of us again?" Aria glared at him.

He laughed a little. "Feisty as ever, Aria. I'm sorry, but I'll explain now."

Kylie's hands shook as she sipped her drink. "You better…"

"Professor told me that you know about the Code Zero program. Well, here is the newest member of the project, Zero Five. That's me."

"They modified you?"

"I basically had to go underground. So we had to… well, I know you two would probably slap me if I said it, so I'll get to the point. I needed to keep quiet, and work on it. Work on the modification process and my training, you know."

"And you couldn't tell us?"

He looked out the window. "I should have let you know. You two have always been my good friends… but I owed it to Jasmine."

"Jasmine? You know her?"

"Yes. She and I were partners. You never met her, but she'd infiltrate and I'd debilitate. It was a clean process. I couldn't let my partner do something so dangerous, and once she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it. So I did it with her."

Kylie felt a little irritated. Maybe it was because he didn't trust her. "Where have you been? I didn't see you help her fight off that damn Jolteon, or help me for that matter."

"Sorry, Kylie. There have been some riots about rights and all that stuff, so they had me oversee just to make sure that nothing dangerous happened. Once they told me about the break in, I rushed over. I probably would have tried to check up on you, but Blaze said I could talk to you personally." He leaned back, the drone of glasses and other smaller conversations filling the coffee shop.

Aria shook her head. "And now we learn that they want us to join the program. This is just… really uncomfortable for me. Why would you make something that's as dangerous as they are? After losing the first one, they should have devoted all their resources to eliminating them. Now they learn that they overdosed the first thee, but you two are both a little weaker than the first three since they needed to control you two. And now… it's just stupid."

The Umbreon closed his eyes and sipped his coffee, and Kylie forced herself to look away. "I know you two are upset. It's quite understandable. Blaze asked me to convince you both to join the program, but I'll warn you that the agents you'll be hunting are… quite monstrous. So it's really up to you."

There was a lot Kylie wanted to say, but the Umbreon stood up, and winked at the Glaceon. "I know how competitive you are, and that you've got a lot of pride and stuff. You really do remind me of Kai in that way. You do your best not to show it. I still remember how I'd always have to protect you two at school." He tossed some cash onto the table and walked away, nodding at one of the waitresses, who blushed. She watched as he disappeared around a corner.

Aria turned to Kylie. "You're going to do it aren't you?"

"Yeah."

The Leafeon looked at her. "You've still got feelings for him don't you?"

"I… I don't know." Kylie looked at her feet. She had loved Grant when they were younger. When he disappeared two years ago, she hadn't been working yet, and Grant had started staying at the facility longer and longer. Jen had been the one to get them their jobs, but at that time, Kylie had already been working in fencing and gymnastics.

"Whatever you decide… I'll help you. But I'm telling you, this is very suspicious. We could be getting ourselves into something a lot more dangerous than we're expecting."

Kylie paused. Aria had strong instincts, and Kylie knew she was concerned for both of them… Kylie stood up. "We'll see. I'll think about it tonight…"

"All right then."

Kylie realized she still hadn't told her sister about what Jen had discovered. But the Leafeon was already walking out, and Kylie rubbed her temples. She pulled out her phone, and checked a few things. There was nothing notable, so she stood up and walked out of the coffee shop.

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Kylie walked along the beach that night. It was about a half hour drive from her house, but it always helped to clear up her mind. It was a little cooler tonight, and in distance, a lighthouse glowed in the night blue sky. Wind blew her azure hair and bangs around, while her dress flapped at her legs. She held her shoes in one hand, enjoying the cool sand between her toes. She faced out to the ocean, letting herself be soothed by the sea breeze. Then she exhaled. Power that the Jolteon wielded made her upset. She had wanted all the power she could get so that she could protect her family. But that had been a silly, stupid wish from when she was 13. Six years later though… the phenomenon still hadn't been quite answered. But she hated being embarrassed the way she had. She kicked some sand angrily. She hated Grant's lies. She hated the fact that she was jealous of his partner, none other than the Espeon that had saved Kylie's life.

It was unreasonable. She had thought he'd been dead, so there should have been nothing left. Her mind had computed that he was back, but she still was struggling. The original disbelief when she had found out that her best friend had died… it had all been nothing. All of her feelings… they had been for a completely fake event used for his own selfish reasons.

She held out her hands. "Freeze…" She closed her eyes, hair standing straight up, and surrounded herself with frozen air. Then she directed the frozen attack straight at the water in the bay. "Now!" In front of her, a massive part of the bay froze over solid, though she knew it was just a thin layer that would melt soon.

"Hmm… I wouldn't expect to find an ice type like you out here." She hadn't noticed Jasmine walk up next to her. She had her hands tucked into her blue jacket's pockets, while her orange shirt and skirt fluttered. "But that wasn't half bad." She nodded to the frozen portion of ocean.

"What are you doing here?"

The Espeon looked around, then sat on a nearby log with her legs crossed. "Have a seat, Kylie."

She obeyed the Espeon. "So… what are you doing?"

"I'm tracking the trail of Zero Two… about six months ago, I happened to come across him here after we managed to find his location if only temporarily. He had been in those apartments across the street." She motioned, and Kylie looked to see some of the least impressive looking buildings around.

"Really?"

She sighed, and telekinetically lifted up a small clump of sand, and spun it around. "Professor Blaze told me you talked up with Grant. He said you looked pretty irritated."

"Well… first, tell me… what's Grant to you?"

She looked up to the sky. "You know…" She crossed her arms. "Grant's a good guy. I know I kind of pressured Grant into doing that, and that you two were childhood friends and all… so… I'm sorry."

Kylie looked at the Espeon watching the stars. "It's nothing. I still haven't completely processed it. My world crumbled when he supposedly died… but…"

Jasmine smiled. "You sound like you were in love with him."

"_Were_ is the key word."

She chuckled. "You've got a sharp tongue, Glaceon. I like that." Then she watched the stars again. "Each time I face one of the other three agents… you don't mind me confessing something, do you?"

"Not at all." Kylie was rather interested.

"Okay… just… I get really scared. I was one of the top infiltration agents around… but… well, it's a reminder of what could have happened to me by joining this program."

Kylie was surprised. Jasmine had seemed so confident and aggressive facing Aaron. "You… scared?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds kind of silly. But… it's lonely. I can't confess this stuff to Grant because he wouldn't understand. He's the kind of guy who'd happily die doing anything for his friends. But me… I'm scared. If Grant dies, it's my fault, since I dragged him into it. And now…" She dropped the clump of sand. "It's a lonely feeling to be scared with nobody to help you."

Kylie always had Aria around, and she didn't know what or where she would be if Aria hadn't been with her. Kylie wasn't too sure what to say, so she just looked up at the stars with Jasmine. They were a cluster of white blots, none of them particularly large tonight. The moon was full however, and Kylie decided to focus on that. "Doesn't the moon make you feel funny, since you're a sun Pokemon?"

"Not particularly. I think it's prettier than the sun, honestly. It doesn't fill me with energy though."

"Really…"

They sat there in silence for about half an hour, before Kylie stood up. "Listen… would you like to come over to my place and have some coffee or something?"

The Espeon looked at her, clearly surprised. Then she smiled, a genuine smile of happiness. "That sounds pleasant. Sure."

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Coffee was always something that Kylie found unusual. Ice types shouldn't like the beach, or coffee, or anything that slightly resembled warmth. But Kylie wasn't one to follow those so-called beliefs. She hadn't touched her drink earlier either, so it tasted very nice. "Can you tell me about each of you five?" asked Kylie after they had settled in.

"Hmm…" She looked around. "Well… I'm sure you heard some about Aaron, so I'll begin with Kai."

"Grant compared me to him. That's the Vaporeon right?"

"Yes. Zero One, the original of the program, and the top assassin in training. Unlike you, who was trained to disable threats or monitor sometimes, he was sent in to finish off enemies. I hear that he was not aggressive, and would often fail his missions in that he wouldn't kill them, but he'd capture them and scare them so badly that others would kill them off. He was very successful though, and I got to know him before he chose to turn against us." She drank from the pink mug Kylie had given her. "Somewhat of a thinker, always thinking of each situation and planning. When he chose to attack us, I'm sure he had planned it as a possibility for about a year."

"He sounds scary."

"It's true. These three, well, the five of us… we're simply better. And out the five of us, Zero One is undoubtedly the most powerful. Aaron does have a type advantage which might make him stronger against Kai, but… I'm honestly relieved we haven't heard about him in awhile."

"It does mean he's probably plotting something… but he hasn't touched any of our facilities in awhile, or attempted to."

"There's been attacks n other facilities?"

"Most of them aren't the scale Aaron just attacked with, so we keep it quiet." She sipped her coffee again. "Kai wouldn't go around blowing up stuff as recklessly as Aaron did. Aaron is smart, no doubt, but planning isn't his specialty. Honestly, I'm rather surprised that they aren't…"

Her voice trailed off. "What's wrong?" asked Kylie.

"I've… I've… had a terrible thought just now… I need…" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry."

Kylie was worried. "Do you want to lie down on my ouch or something? You look really…"

"Yeah… just…" She covered both her eyes, and lay down on the couch. "I… I just panicked a little. It's probably…. It's probably me just overthinking again. Grant always says I do that…"

Kylie felt envy at the closeness that the two had. She had always thought that she would end up being the closest one to Grant. She decided not to ask about what had made the Espeon panic. "So… how did you and Grant meet?"

"The government paired us together. We met up for a mission. He was pretty quiet at first. He didn't tell me anything, though he did listen to my signals and was very reliable in arrests and captures."

"And yet he followed you into the Code Zero program?"

Jasmine sat up. "Grant and I share a lot. He saved my life once when I needed to flirt with a psycho to get him out of a densely populated area. He had drugged my drink, but Grant had seen it and the moment I began to feel weak, he was at my side and talked off the psycho. We never captured him, but the target committed suicide two days later, so it worked out."

Kylie was shocked. "You sound so calm! You could have been killed or tortured or something!"

"I know that. But Grant protected me… and after that, we became closer."

Grant and Kylie had always been pretty close since they had known each other since they were kids, but he'd always been friendly with Kylie. It was hard to imagine the confident, somewhat cocky Umbreon being quiet. "You're very lucky Grant's accepted you as his friend."

She smiled. "Grant would mention you in his stories often. His cute little sister. I'd always expected you to be a little girl, not a beautiful lady like the one you are."

The pretty Espeon surprised Kylie. "Oh… well… thanks?" She had thought of herself as pretty, but it still surprised her to be complemented by a figure such as Jasmine.

The Espeon stood up, and threw the denim jacket over her short shirt. "I do not know what your plan is, or what else… but I've got a feeling in my gut that you're going to be there at the facility tomorrow."

Kylie had already made the decision, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well… I'll see you around."

"Yup." The door closed behind her, and Kylie locked it.

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"So she's going to do it, huh?"

"I've been following her. She is determined to become stronger. After what happened with Kai, I don't blame her. I would've been pretty angry too."

"He was always aggressive though. He's probably the most straightforward." Grant took off his jacket. "They're not going to do the procedure tomorrow, but I've got a bad feeling. We're going to need some help soon."

Grant and Jasmine stood on the beach that Kylie had been on earlier. "Even with our greater numbers, they're individually stronger than us. Four against three will be fair, maybe."

"I just had a terrible thought… what… what if they're working together?"

"Eh?"

"Yeah… the last attack by Aaron was not designed with intent to kill."

He thought about it. "I don't think so. If they were, they'd know it'd be easy for all three to converge on a point. We'd be useless if they attack us like that."

Jasmine was quiet, then admitted, "You're right."

The Umbreon picked up a flat stone. He tossed it in his hand a bit before throwing it up into the air. He held out his hand and a spear of dark energy pierced it before it dissolved.

"Your Dark Pulse is scary looking. Why can't it be normal?"

He turned around. "We aren't normal. There's not too much point in pretending we are. Kylie and Aria are about to become one of us, and I'm not going to stop them. Once they officially join, we'll need to prepare them for what's going to happen to them when they finally meet Kai or Aaron or William. Because you know that they're not prepared."

"We weren't prepared," reminded Jasmine. "We're still alive."

The Umbreon shook his head. "You remember the first time they had us hunt William and we actually found him? I almost got crushed by the ceiling and he knew that you'd have to protect me. He was able to escape and we haven't seen that Flareon since."

"That was obviously your fault," she said with a sigh. "You tried fighting him up close."

"You were supposed to guard me with Reflect too though."

Jasmine sighed. "That was when we were still getting used to everything." She nudged him playfully. "I think we've got much better teamwork now."

Grant nodded. "We've done what we could for now. It's pretty late now."

Jasmine looked up. "It is late. You know… thanks for everything."

He was surprised. "For what?"

"Well… for joining this program. I told Kylie I was lonely… but… I realized how much I rely on you."

He laughed a little. "I thought you were going to confess your love or something!"

"You wish. But…" Her voice became gentler. "I think that Kylie still has some feelings for you."

Grant looked up at the moon. "I hope she doesn't."

**What's next? Read and Review as the rewrite continues!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE: OBSERVER**

"The program is very simple. You and your sister are already trained very well, but now, we're going unlock your potential."

"What is that Jolteon running at?"

"He's sitting in the high 70s percentile wise, as does William."

Kylie nodded. "Give me the same dose-"

"No way, we'll lose control of you. It affects them mentally to a minor extent, though higher doses do make it more potent. One of the most even tempered Pokemon betrayed us. So don't think you'll be unaffected."

Aria sighed. "So what? Do we need surgery? Shots?"

The Typhlosion reached into a drawer. "Pills actually."

"Pills?!" Both sisters were shocked.

"You're telling me you can make super-Pokemon just with some pills?"

Kylie was taken aback. "Really?"

"Well, only genetically unstable Pokemon. And these pills expire after three hours, so it's not like we have them lying around."

"No way…"

"You might experience some weird effects, not limited to headaches, temporarily blurry vision, possibly homicidal thoughts, sexual arousal, sore throat, and maybe hallucinations."

"Homicidal thoughts?" asked Kylie.

"Sexual arousal?" added Aria. "What the hell is in these things?"

"You know I can't tell you that. Just take it."

Kylie turned to Aria. "Are you ready?"

"Let's go." Both sisters swallowed the pills. "Not getting horny," joked Aria.

Kylie didn't feel anything. "When will we start feeling the effects?"

"Soon."

"Hmm…" Kylie sat down on the bed nearby. "There's no reason it would kick in immediately." Kylie turned to Aria, who was staring intently at her feet. "Are you okay?"

Aria was quiet. "Uh… I… excuse me?"

The Leafeon looked up, and she did look rather out of it. "Are you…?" Then she fell back onto the bed. "Aria!"

Then it hit her like nothing else she had ever felt. Her mind became blank, and her senses went out. She couldn't hear, her vision went numb. She only saw the wall, her mind not processing much else. She was completely blank.

When she finally came to an unknown amount of time later, she was lying in a royal blue room on a black bed. Her vision was blurry, but she was able to walk around well enough. "A-Aria? Are you here?" Her sister wasn't around. "What a strange room…" Kylie instinctively reached to her back, where her normal weapon of choice was hidden. Something was very wrong. "Professor? Are you here?"

The room had a very cool tile floor, as if nobody else was around. But her senses were ringing right now; someone else was in here. The dark nature of the room made it extremely difficult to see; there was no major source of light.

She pulled out her standard weapon, and willed the ice to come through the handle, until she held an ice blade designed for her by the professor himself. She willed it to grow to full length, and held it out. "Show yourself."

Then she saw it, a shadow against the wall. Ten swordlike shapes, flying towards her. Then they surrounded her like satellites, all pointed towards her, spinning around. She spun around, but she was too shocked to do anything as the ten swords pierced her body.

The pain was so intense, but she couldn't scream. No blood dripped out of the wounds, but it was as if she had been cut. She was going to die here.

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"Kylie! Wake up!"

The Glaceon sat up, breathing hard. "I'm… I'm…" She clutched her chest, her heart pounding. "I'm okay, I'm okay…"

Blaze sat next to her. "Are you all right?"

"I just had… a nightmare." She rubbed her head. "What time is it?"

"You were out for 13 hours. Aria got up two hours ago. How do you feel?"

It was crazy, but Kylie did feel different. She was analyzing everything at a much quicker rate, her body processing her surroundings. Even her senses were sharper. "I do feel a little different… maybe stronger… a little more sensitive…"

"You'll really see it when you're doing missions."

She tried standing up, but her legs were a little sore. "Is it natural to be this sore?"

"Your body is strengthening itself. We didn't give you as strong a strength dose as Aria or William, but your speed and ice powers should be dramatically enhanced."

She reached to her back, sliding her hand into her dress, and pulled out the handle of her weapon. Energy raced through her as the sword formed just like in her nightmare. But she felt empowered now. "It's almost glowing since it's so cold…"

"That looks very sharp," commented Aria. "You do look a lot more alert."

"I feel it." Her powers were in fact enhanced. This ice blade looked sharp enough to damage steel badly. She willed it to dissolve. "This is great." She forgot about the haunting dream she had. "I feel so powerful."

Aria smiled. "You were right doing this. I feel a lot better. But… we've got some work to do before we reach the level of the others, right?" she asked Professor Blaze.

"Of course. I respect your combat skills, but these are skilled assassins, soldiers, and mercenaries. You'll need to outsmart them too." Jasmine walked into the room, and nodded at Kylie. "Looking good, you two."

Grant followed behind, brushing his long black hair out of his face. "I see that you didn't change your mind. That's expected though, especially from you Kylie."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm just teasing you, hehe."

"Now now, don't go irritating her. We'll need to avoid fights."

"Sorry professor. She and I are longtime friends, so we're okay."

Kylie ignored him. "Professor, is there anything that we should do to become stronger?"

"Grant and Jasmine will show you what's required."

Both smiled; Grant's was more playful, while Jasmine's was more friendly. "We'll show you what to prepare for. I've done some research on each of their fighting styles and backgrounds."

Grant turned to Aria. "I'll help you out. Kylie and Jasmine can get some time to know each other."

Kylie was a little envious. She turned away. "Okay Jasmine, where should we go?"

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"I've got to say, this is quite relaxing, no? It's so soothing…" Jasmine stretched her arms up, steam rising from her skin.

"Uhh…" Kylie smiled sheepishly, covering her bare chest. "I'm an ice type… and these public bathhouses are so uncomfortable."

"Relax. There's only two of us here." Jokingly, she added, "You've got a pretty decent size up there."

Kylie looked away, embarrassed. "Can't we just do what we have to? This heat is making me nauseous."

The Espeon nodded. "Right, right. We'll be practicing for Zero One's fighting style."

"The Vaporeon? I should have known… though this heat might be comfy for a fire-type…"

"Kai has advanced levels of water manipulation, being able to draw molecules themselves around, and can adjust the heat of it from near freezing to almost boiling."

"Almost boiling? Ugh…"

Jasmine nodded. "You'll be hard pressed to keep your ice frozen if you're facing him. And even without that, he's a fearsome enemy. He's tactically trained and a formidable swordfighter."

"Swordfighter?"

"Yeah, just like you. His sword can be adjust in various sizes, since the blade is pure liquid." Jasmine thought about it. "Do you think you can freeze this warm water?"

Kylie closed her eyes, and felt the air around condense a little. She focused on nothing but cold, a pure blue color. "Freeze…"

The water began to chill, but it was a struggle. Finally, she did it; the hot water frozen solid now. Jasmine nodded. "Impressive! Two minutes and thirteen seconds. That's not bad. Kai will be launching water just as if not warmer than this though. I know you Ice-types use blocks of frozen water for defense, so you'll need to freeze it quickly."

"-"

She was going to speak, but the Espeon's eyes glowed pink. "Try defend against this." A glob of water floated up, then flew at Kylie.

Kylie ducked under it, then tried to launch an Ice Beam attack. It was too warm though, and was slushy at best. Jasmine didn't even bother avoiding it, and launched another blob, this one quicker. Kylie dodged it, but it split in midair, and one blob hit her in the stomach, splattering against her skin. "Hey!"

"You need to be quicker! Kai's attacks will be quicker than mine and a potentially deadly if they contact!" She held out her hand with a barrage of small water blobs.

There were too many for Kylie to defend against, so she focused on creating a barrier of frigid air. The droplets were small enough so that they could be easily frozen. They dropped out of the air, and fell to the steamy water below.

"That's more like it." Jasmine smiled. "Now… we can relax."

"I thought…"

"What's wrong?"

"Never mind." Kylie sighed, keeping her thoughts about the heat to herself.

"Last night…" Jasmine stared at the ceiling of the bathhouse. "You said you used to love Grant."

"Yeah."

The Espeon seemed to think about what to say next. "Do you… still feel anything for him?"

Kylie bit her lip. "Maybe a little bit of… I don't know. It's settled in now, but… it's different."

"How old are you again?"

"I'm nineteen."

"Ah, so you're almost as old as me. That makes sense."

"You're eighteen right? So-"

She blinked. "Eh? Eighteen? Oh, that's right, you somehow ended up with those files. That's rather outdated for me, honestly. I think those files are from when Grant and I joined the program. I'm twenty now, so I'm still older than you. Just a little."

"Why?" asked Kylie. "Is there something about age?"

"Well… you see, Grant is definitely a playboy. I don't think the idea of staying with a single Pokemon appeals to him. He's handsome, has money, and is charming. Sure, you're a very pretty Glaceon, but… well, Grant can get pretty much any girl he wishes."

Kylie sighed. "I know you're right… I guess that's what's different. He's a lot less serious now. It's hard to believe he can focus when he needs to."

"He gets the job done. Like I said, I trust him with my life." The Espeon smiled a little.

"Grant always has been that kind of guy though. Save any damsel in distress. He'd always protect us in grade school. He got beat up quite a few times from bullies. I guess that's why he's so resilient even now."

Jasmine blinked. "Really?"

"Yup. Grant went though a lot to protect me and Aria. We're all orphans, so we had to stay together to be strong."

"It's good that it worked out so well for you three. You must have studied very hard in school," commented Jasmine.

"Well, me and Aria did. The government hired us when they learned about us being smart enough and my friend Jen helped."

"Jen?"

"Yeah, you probably don't now her."

"Oh, okay."

"But anyways… Grant was such a hard worker though. I guess that's why I was surprised when you called him a playboy. He worked hard for what he got."

Jasmine smiled. "I know how brilliant he is. Sure, he's not as factually great as a scientist, but he's very good. He's probably as tactically gifted as Kai, and is strong enough physically to keep up with William. He always wanted to help the government catch threats… or so he said."

"That's true. He was always determined to achieve that goal. He never explained to me what happened, but he does have that dangerous side to him. Once he sets his mind to something, he won't give up."

Jasmine laughed loudly. "That's what he always says about you!"

"What? I…"

She stood up again. "All right, let's go. I know you're probably feeling funny, so… would you like to go out for lunch?"

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"These sandwiches… they're amazing!" Kylie bit into one, her mouth in shock. Then she cleared her throat. "How have I not heard of this place, Jasmine?"

The Espeon smiled. "It's a place that I always come to. Grant invited me here when we first met. We really became closer here after some arguing previously."

Kylie didn't want to admit it, but it irritated her that Grant was so open to someone else. It had taken her years to get comfortable with him. Jasmine had done it in just a few years. "Sheesh… are you in love with Grant?" she grumbled. "No need-"

"Gah!" The Espeon looked down. "I… of course I wouldn't be in love with him. He's…" She looked up, embarrassment mostly gone. "He's just strong. I look up to him."

Kylie wasn't too sure whether to read that as a yes or no. "I-" She yelped as some water spilled onto her lap.

"I'm sorry. I'll go clean it up." One of the workers had been refilling their waters, and had dripped a little bit. He walked away to get some towels.

"Are you all right?" asked Jasmine. "I mean, I know you are, but you look pretty shocked. I thought you liked the cold."

Kylie wiped her dress. "It's just wet. I won't die." She huffed. She couldn't say what she was going to have said earlier.

"What's up?" Grant sat down next to Kylie, then turned to Jasmine. "I'm not surprised to see you here, honestly."

Aria sat down across from him. "How'd it go with Jasmine?"

Kylie shrugged. "I've got to get a little stronger. Blobs of water are tough to avoid."

Aria looked at the Glaceon's wet dress. "Or glasses of water. What happened?"

"Our waiter spilled water on me."

He was looking down, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry, it's quite embarrassing to spill water on such a pretty girl."

Kylie turned back to Aria. "See? It's not my fault. I just hope that I'll be quicker though. Jasmine really showed me how slow I am. Though I think you're really overselling this Vaporeon. How quick can his attacks be?" she asked Jasmine.

"Very quick," replied Grant and Jasmine simultaneously.

"You got better even in the short time we trained, but… well, Kai isn't to be underestimated," murmured Jasmine. "Grant and I were almost killed, but he chose to spare us."

"Well, I don't know about that."

"Waiter! I'd like this one…" said Aria, ordering her food. Their main waiter came up while the one who had spilled turned around and walked away.

"All right! I apologize for his incompetence," she said, taking away the menus.

"No worries!" said Grant before placing his order. "Now," he said once the waiter left, "Where were you two?"

"We practiced in the bathhouse, and don't get any lewd thoughts Grant. It was to train in water avoidance and freezing for once we face Kai," stated Jasmine.

Grant held up his hands defensively. "When do I ever have lewd thoughts? Honestly…"

"Well, all you guys are like that… though I suppose that's rather sexist," mused Aria.

"You aren't that bad," admitted Kylie. "Better than most guys I've met."

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"So what do you think Kai? Feeling comfortable watching them plotting against us?" Aaron the Jolteon peered over the balcony to the lower level, eating a doughnut.

"I think that the four of them could kick your ass," said William with a sigh. The muscular Flareon wore a leather jacket and had a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt. He was checking some messages on his phone.

"I didn't ask you, William. You don't even analyze the situation."

The Flareon didn't look up. "Neither do you. For a hacker, you're pretty stupid tactically. It's a good thing Kai arranged for your little break in."

"I was not expecting a fake copy though," commented the Vaporeon, eyes narrowed as he saw the others talking. The Vaporeon wore a blue, collared shirt. He wore a pair of white jeans. He brushed his blue hair out of his face. "Still… I think we should plan to meet them."

"That was rather nasty of you to spill water on her. That poor guy's all depressed now."

"Water type perks." The Vaporeon seemed to think about something. He eyed them all, then smiled a little. "How has your thing with that Sylveon been going on, William?"

"Oh, Jenny? She's a sweet girl."

"That's good. You found any information yet?"

"Not yet… but I'm not just playing it out. I… think that I really do like her."

"What? Are you retarded? That won't work!" blurted Aaron.

Kai, on the other hand, sipped his iced tea. "That's really great. Regardless of all the crap that's going on around us, we still deserve to find our own happiness within this tough world."

"You two are stupid. I'm leaving," grumbled Aaron. "I don't care for this useless chitchat." He stood up and left, heading down the stairs.

"Why did we have to get grouped with that short-tempered asshole?" sighed William. "He has no respect for us, or anything outside of fighting."

"He's not that bad. He won't talk unless you talk to him. Then the trouble begins. He's always had this sense of anger against the world. He's not going to change anytime soon, so we just have to deal with it. He'll be humbled soon though."

"I sure hope you're right. I don't want him to die or anything, but he needs a kick in the face," grumbled William. "Anyways, I haven't asked her about the two sisters yet. I don't know if she knows about the program. It's obviously some of the most secretive information around, and I don't know if she has clearance for that."

"Ah well, that's all right. She's likely not related to it, so she shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty sure she'd be suspicious of any Flareon if she knew about the program. It's good you're looking to help expand our species."

"Oh come on, now. We're nowhere near that."

Kai shrugged. "Just something to think about. That terrible disease that makes us guys sterile just crushed our populations."

"Well, the girls could still mess around with other species…"

Kai shook his head. "Their DNA makes them just… a little less special."

"That's rather offensive, don't you think?"

The Vaporeon blinked, then waved it off. "I'm sorry, you're right." He watched Grant stand up, and leave the three girls to themselves.

"You know, Grant did set us up an opening if we'd like to talk to or scare or… you know, mess around with them."

Kai shook his head. "No, I'm going to have to observe them a little bit more before I become familiar with their personalities."

"All right then, Kai." William stared at them some more. "Who will you observe first?"

"That Glaceon. Grant's told me a bit about her, but she has a quiet determination that'll make her a tough one to scare off. She's probably the more dangerous one in combat too."

"Really? I mean, Jasmine is really strong. She fought of Aaron and has held her own against you and I."

"Eh, Jasmine is predictable. Aaron doesn't have a combat strategy, so he relies on blitzing and catching them off guard. If he loses that, he can't do much other than run away and try get a lucky Thunderbolt in."

William was quiet, then said, "I wish that they gave me your 'intention eye'."

Kai sighed. "It's both a curse and a gift. But…" He leaned over a little. "That Glaceon… she's got something kind of special…"

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know what it is. But I'm going to observe her. There's something… almost… nostalgic about her."

William was silent yet again. Then he said, "Well, I'll let you do your 'observing'. I'm going to meet Jenny at the park."

"Yes, thanks." Once the Flareon left, he sipped his iced tea, then left his money and walked past the girls out of the restaurant.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kylie felt it. It was one of those things she couldn't explain. Sitting at the table, talking with Aria and Jasmine… then it came, a wind, a chill that ice-types shouldn't feel. Her entire body stiffened. She felt a feeling that she couldn't explain.

"Kylie… is something wrong?" asked Aria.

She turned around, but nobody or nothing was there. Pokemon walked in and out, and it was impossible to single out an individual. But… "It's… it's nothing."

Jasmine blinked. "You look as if you just saw something."

"Err… I didn't see anything."

Aria was still bothered, but Kylie shot her a glance, and the Leafeon huffed. "Anyways… as I was saying, Kylie once saw Grant naked!"

"Eh?! Wh-when was this?"

Kylie was still shivering from the feeling. She had never felt such an insidious intent… though… perhaps it wasn't murderous. But… definitely… not right. "Err… I'm sleepy. I'll be heading home."

"Oh, all right," said Jasmine.

Aria pointed to her phone, a little irritated. "You call me when you get home."

"Yeah… just… tired from all the training and… operation…" She stumbled out of the restaurant, glad to be outside. "Phew… I… I…" She sighed. "Calm down. You're just overreacting. You probably thought you saw something, but it's all right." She looked around; she didn't sense anything creepy or stalker-like, which calmed her further. She had caught a ride with Jasmine here, so she decided to take the twenty minute walk to her nearby apartment.

She followed the large river than ran through the city. It had always been one of her favorite parts of the city when she and Aria had moved here. There were trees and grass on this side of the river, nearly the opposite of the cement heavy industrial area across. The water looked quite clean, and was a beautiful blue. If she had her clothes, she might have gone swimming. Then again, it was probably a lot more dirty than it looked. She knew to be careful with water. She had slipped while doing a mission about 7 months ago, and had nearly been spotted by the shady CEO of NavCorp, a Pokemon tracking company. Of course, there hadn't been anything illegal thankfully, but water just didn't sit well with spies. You couldn't be quiet through it, and things could always hide in the depths.

The sky sunny, and Kylie sat down on a bench, watching the clouds roll by. She closed her eyes, and felt the happiness of being in such a peaceful spot overwhelm her.

Cars rolled past behind her, but they were seemingly distant as she focused her senses on the chirping birds.

"Hey, what's up Kylie?" She turned around, her cute Sylveon friend waving to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey Jen, I…" She noticed the Flareon next to her friend. He looked at her, a little surprised, before dipping his head. He was fairly tall and strong looking, maybe about 5'11 and wore sunglasses and a black leather jacket.

"Hello, who is this?"

Jen smiled. "This is my good friend, Kylie. I met her in high school! She works for the government too."

He nodded. "I… I'm Liam." He shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You as well." He smiled. "So… what do you then? I heard you work for the government."

"I'm just an office worker. I just… you know, do files and stuff."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought you might be some government agent. That'd be cool."

Kylie was about to say something, but Jen said, "Yeah, we're always super bored at work. But the pay is decent at least!"

"That's true. I just work at the forgery." He pointed to the Western side of the town. "A lot of us steel and fire types work there. We can just unleash our flames and… whatever steel types use, haha."

Jen smiled. "Yes, we were going to head to the amusement park. But it's strange to see you here though, especially alone!"

"I was… err… umm… you know, just cooling off."

"Because you're an ice type! Sorry, just had to make the joke, haha."

The Flareon glanced at Kylie awkwardly. "So… uh, where'd you come from?"

"I just came from lunch with my sister and my friends. We came from the sandwich shop over there."

"Oh, yes, I've heard of it. I buy some bread there sometimes. It's really tasty."

"Yeah…"

Jen hugged Kylie, then said, "We're going to be going now. See you at work tomorrow!"

"Yeah… bye."

The Flareon waved back before holding Jen's hand as they walked away.

Kylie watched them, unable to shake the thought of Grant as she saw them so happy. Kylie had been chased by guys before, but she'd normally just stay away from them, and they'd normally get the message. That was partially because Grant was always on her mind, but… well, he still was on her mind.

Kylie stood up, and began the lonely walk home, not sure if she felt better or worse.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR: IN A NAME**

"Kylie… are you all right?" Aria was concerned again.

"I'm fine." Kylie sighed over the phone. "I'm just… I just had a panic attack."

Aria sounded puzzled. "Umm, what? You're a trained spy. Something must have happened."

"I… I just had a terrible feeling. Like some Pokemon wanted… it was terrible. I felt sickened."

"Is it your time of the month?" teased Aria.

"Of course not!"

Her sister laughed. "See, don't worry about it! It was probably some guy checking you out."

"I hope so…" Hesitantly, she added, "No pervert could make into my apartment."

"Yeah, think of it that way. Anyways, I've got to go now. See you at work tomorrow."

"Bye." She hung up, and put away her phone. She stretched out, then opened the sliding glass door to her balcony. She looked at the buildings and bridge across. She exhaled, leaning on the railing. "Why are you so paranoid, Kylie? Kylie May, what's wrong with you?" She used her given full name the way Ms. Redheart used to call her. She hadn't particularly liked it, but it made her feel like an adult. She really needed that now. Something to make her feel confident again. She couldn't believe how much that incident in the restaurant was affecting her even now…

She turned around, closing the sliding door behind her. She sat down on her couch, listening to the hum of her air conditioner. The slight vibrating was constant, but occasionally, the family above began walking, causing the ceiling to vibrate ever so slightly. Kylie closed her eyes, meditating.

Eventually, she dozed off, mentally drained from the events of the day.

She dreamed that Grant had asked her to marry him, then she had said no. And then he had laughed, then began to kiss Jasmine.

She forgot about it when she woke up, but she felt a lot better, and wasn't bothered. It was 7:42 now, so she decided to go take a bath… one where an Espeon wouldn't try to attack her.

Her bath was very cold to a point where only an ice type would enjoy. She sighed as she looked at her body. Traditionally, female Glaceons were particularly large in the chest area, as they needed to feed their children more due to the cold weather. Kylie wasn't flat chested by any means, but for a Glaceon, simple C cups were actually on the smaller side. It was embarrassing to see Jasmine with a similar bust despite that being uncommon for Espeons.

But she was always happy with her body still. She was quite skinny still, and she believed she was pretty.

Then she sighed. "Sheesh, Kylie. You're still too young to be thinking about that kind of stuff like attracting a mate or something." Which wasn't exactly true though, but she hoped she'd help herself believe it.

She threw on her sheer nightgown that had been a gift from Aria last Christmas. It was green and slid along her bed, but it was comfortable enough, and she never had anyone but her sister over normally, with the exception of Jasmine last night. She had felt uncomfortable with its borderline translucency, but it never bothered her any more.

She decided to watch some TV, unaware that a stalker was in fact nearby.

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Kai had been watching from a bridge across the street. He had been watching her and all her tendencies.

"Hmm… that's a rather questionable nightgown in terms of appropriateness…" He bit his lower lip. "I'm not complaining, though."

He stood up and brushed off some dust before moving a bit in order to keep her in view. She now moved to watch some TV. He couldn't see what she was watching, but it wasn't a huge concern to him. Her bedroom was connected to the balcony through glass, so he had a surprisingly decent view from where he was. The bridge was only about 50 yards away from her balcony, but Kai had tucked himself under the bridge, avoiding suspicion.

Obviously, she wouldn't change outside of the bathroom. She probably knew that someone would probably watch if she did. Her tail swished slightly as she watched the television.

He had seen her talking on the phone, take a nap, and take a bath. It wasn't as interesting as he had hoped, but he couldn't stop watching. He didn't even know what he expected. Maybe catch her trying to do something on her computer? He didn't know. Maybe catch her changing? "Ugh, focus." He shook his head a little and watched her now.

She wasn't moving much now, just watching the TV intently.

"Must be some really interesting show on." His phone began ringing, and saw that Grant was calling. "Yes?"

"All right… I… wait, where are you right now?"

"I'm watching Kylie."

The Umbreon was quiet before saying, "You're sure interested in her. Do you know her?"

"No. I mean, she could be my old classmate or something… but I'm still five years older than her. So it can't be."

"Listen… I was talking to Jen, and… well, she didn't have any major information about the program."

Kai nodded. "Well, she's relatively high tier on the clearance ladder. But that's still not too surprising." Thoughtfully, he added, "Have they contacted her for anything?"

"Not that I know of. Though I don't think she'd tell me even if."

"All right. Umm… how should I put this… what's up with you and Kylie?"

"What are you saying?"

"Have you… well, do you think she's pretty? Because she really is, and there's not anything wrong with thinking that." The Umbreon said it matter-of-factly, but Kai got the point.

"It's just… I mean, she's pretty." He sighed. "I won't let it get in the way though. I still have my objective, you have yours."

"Listen… I know they're going after you guys and all… but… trying to talk to her might not be the worst idea."

"What?!" Then Kai spoke quietly again. "Sorry, that just surprised me."

"No, it sounds stupid, and I'm not certain, but…"

"Well… why do you think that?"

"Kylie doesn't have many friends. She's lonely… and… I mean… she's like a little sister to me. She's like you, you know. She never kills, and grew up without a family. Your family was harsh to you, so you could relate."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"Not really. But at the same time… well, try talk to her. She's not as naturally aggressive as her sister… though if you piss her off, she will come after you."

"Huh. All right." The Umbreon hung up, and Kai tucked his phone away. "Well then…" The Glaceon was standing on her balcony again now, looking right at Kai. It was dark now, so he couldn't see anything, but she didn't appear to notice him. Eventually, she turned around and walked back inside, and the light went off. It was actually 10:11 now, so Kai stood up and climbed back on the top of the bridge.

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"All right Kylie, I'll be working with you today." Grant was waiting outside the agent's facility.

Kylie stretched. "It's pretty early…"

"I guarantee you that Aaron, William, and Kai are probably preparing for something. Aaron probably is researching us online, and Kai and William may be trailing you. Just keep your eyes open."

Kylie sighed. "You're probably right. Last night, I got this really weird feeling, and I think I saw something move on the bridge across the stream in back of my apartment."

Grant paused. "Really?"

"I couldn't be sure. It didn't make me feel sick or anything. I had a tiring day too, so…"

"Yeah, that's probably it." Grant walked next to her.

Kylie was nervous. She hadn't been alone with Grant too much. "So… where are we going?"

"We're going to visit the Northwestern Power Plant. I heard that a Jolteon might be around there."

"Aaron?"

"That's what I'm willing to bet. Jasmine is busy with something else, but Aria said she'd try to meet us at the Plant."

"Oh…" Kylie was hoping they'd be alone, but Aria would be a big benefit if they did have to fight him. "Yeah, she had to get a bug bite on her leg checked out. Hopefully, she'll be okay."

Grant drove the two of them down there in his matte coupe. It was surprisingly nice inside. "So… have a boyfriend yet?"

Kylie looked down. "I… I don't…"

Grant laughed. "You know, I've got a good friend. I think you'd get along with him. Well, he's a good amount older than you."

Kylie shook her head. "I'm… I'm not interested in that kind of stuff," she said, face red. She looked out the window, brushing her bangs. "I've got a goal. I'm going to worry about that first. We're going to bring in those three before I think about anything else. Especially that Jolteon."

"You sure are determined. That stubbornness will scare boys," he joked.

"You're not scared," she muttered.

"Huh? Well, I've known you for… ten? Eleven? I've known you forever. It'd be stupid to be scared of you. I know deep down, you're really cute."

"Really?" She imagined she must have sounded like a 7 year old.

"Yeah. Your sister's cute too, but she kind of acts like a guy sometimes," he laughed. "I… I really appreciate your friendship."

That stung a little, but Kylie did her best to smiled. "Me too."

The Umbreon parked his car, and Kylie was surprised at how much time had passed. "Well then, let's go investigate. I know you'll be eager to sniff around."

"You bet." They stepped out of the car. Kylie had a cute white dress on today. White was probably her favorite color outside of blue. Her phone shook as she received a text from her sister. "Aria will be here soon," she let Grant know.

"Good." He pulled out a card and swiped it through the electronic lock, and pushed open the door.

Kylie followed him, looking around. There were various boilers and turbines inside. "Where are most of the workers?"

"They're likely working to power the turbines directly now. It's the most direct way, and they just boil the water when they are running out of energy," explained Grant. "Man…" He tucked his hands into his black leather jacket. "This place is quite massive though. It'd easily take half a day to look all around."

A Raichu with a construction hat walked up. He had a pair of goggles on and adjusted it a little. "Oh, you're the government workers I suppose. You're looking what exactly?"

"A friend. He may be hiding here."

"Hmm… well, go take a look around. All of us are working to charge this quadrant of the city, so try not to distract us, okay?"

"Of course," nodded Grant.

The Raichu ran off quickly, shouting something to a Pokemon they couldn't see. "I don't think we're going to be able to find anything here…"

"It's still worth a look." Grant walked a little ahead. "It's definitely a place where it'd make sense to hide."

Kylie peered around a few boilers, but didn't see anything. "I guess you're right."

"It'd help to have Jasmine here. Her psychic ability is strong enough to detect other Pokemon within the general vicinity. It's a shame she had something more pressing to attend to."

"Do you know what it is? I mean, tracking these three is our main priority, no?"

Grant was a little far away now. "Well… I don't think they told her what was going on. They just needed her for something. Probably substance levels."

"Like what?"

"They track hormone levels and stuff. The modifications do tend to… boost your sex drive. You felt any burning down there or something?"

"What? Uh, not really…"

"Ah well, they give us medications and stuff normally. There's things we do to reduce how horny we get and stuff."

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish. It's pretty uncomfortable sometimes, but… eh, a few pills and we're all good."

Kylie shuddered. "That's news to me."

"They did warn you though, I'm sure. Just take the meds monthly."

Kylie climbed up a ladder. "Do you think that it was Aaron watching me last night? You know… how I felt weird?"

The Umbreon began climbing up behind her. "I don't know. Aaron…" He seemed to choose his words carefully. "He doesn't like to learn Pokemon's tendencies. Kai is into that, but William also likes to ensure the odds as well. I'm…" He paused. "I'm willing to bet it might be Kai."

That confirmed her suspicion. "So he does know who I am."

"You know, they probably do all know honestly. Aaron could have hacked in easily without much detection, Kai probably stalked you, and William is great at getting information. I'm willing to bet that they know exactly who you are."

Kylie shuddered. "I still don't know what they look like."

"Well, there are exceptionally few of our species around after the disease… you know." A disease had wiped out well over half of the previously thriving Eon population, meaning that their type was quite rare to find. "But I'm saying that any Jolteon or Flareon or Vaporeon could very well be them."

"All right, I'll keep that in min-"

It came unexpectedly. She hadn't even sensed anything that might have suggested that the ladder would become electrified. But it did. She knew to keep her muscles relaxed, and let go of the ladder, pain flowing through her.

She felt herself hit Grant as she fell down. The floor was 15 feet away, and it felt as if she had been hit by a car. She was stunned for a short while, before sitting up in a slight daze.

Grant jumped down next to her. "Kylie!" He sounded distant. "Kylie, are you all right?"

"Yeah." She held her head. "Shit… did you feel it too?"

"Sort of. I think you absorbed most of the energy though." He helped her to her feet. "Do you want to head back to the car or-"

"That had to be him, right?"

"Well…"

"I'll kill that bastard. Nobody else would send a charge through the ladder."

Grant rested a hand on her shoulder. "Kylie, please be careful. You're not experienced enough to stop Aaron in a single combat situation." Grant held out his hand, and murmured, "Protect."

The protective barrier floated above them as they climbed up the ladder, blocking any sort of electricity. The mesh bridge was about 50 feet above the ground level, and a constant buzz seemed to float up here. Grant stepped up first, then helped Kylie behind him. "Do you see anything?"

"No." Grant narrowed his eyes. "But… he's here. This electricity in the air… it's faint, but I've grown accustomed to it. No doubt." He looked around. "Be on guard, Kylie."

"Freeze…" She pulled out the handle, and froze the air around it to a sword. "Can you sense where he is?"

"Right here, sweetie. I'm surprised a weak girl like you is still alive after taking that jolt." The electric type sat haphazardly on a large cooling cylinder. He sighed. "Come on now, Grant."

The Umbreon leapt up onto the tower. "All right then. We won't let you get away."

"Heh. I suppose I should respect your wish to fight." The Jolteon's body flashed as electricity cackled through his hair and body.

But Grant did something equally impressive. He surrounded himself with a vortex of shadows. When it faded, he held a long tendril. At first, Kylie thought it was almost a rose stem, lined with thorns, but she realized it was black. "Come on Kylie," Grant said, not taking his eyes off the Jolteon.

She jumped up a little less gracefully, but stood next to him. "I won't let you beat me again!" she said, determined.

He dashed towards her at top speed, fist outstretched. Kylie was barely able to react in order to block it with her sword. He hit the blunt of her blade, pushing her back a little, but she was able to evade most of the blow. She pushed him back a little, and a spear of dark energy came flying from behind her. She had never seen the technique, but she knew it was Grant.

The Jolteon jumped at the last moment. The explosion released a cloud of black smoke. Kylie coughed a little, but was prepared for an attack from any direction. "Don't move too much," murmured Grant. "You don't want to fall over the railing."

"All right." She couldn't see anything, but she knew he was right. "Where is he?"

"Right here!" Kylie couldn't speak as she felt heavy blow to her left side. Immediately, she felt electricity flowing through her body. The pain came immediately after, and she struggled to keep standing.

The smoke cleared, and the Jolteon jumped away from her. Kylie held her side. Grant was next to her in an instant. "Shit… are you all right?"

"I think so." She grit her teeth. "I can keep going."

"Sheesh, is she the one that you'd talk about?" The Jolteon held his hands up mockingly. "I thought she was stronger than this. I thought she'd have more will."

Kylie closed her eyes. Icy thoughts. Angry thoughts. Her eyes glowed blue, and her dress billowed out around her. She had lost her temper a few times before. She had destroyed a car once before. "I'm not weak! I'll… I'll show you!" She held out her blade. Behind her formed six massive spears of ice. "I'm…. I'm not weak!"

The flew at the surprised Jolteon. He jumped, but was caught in the arm with one. His eyes were wide as the frozen shaft pierced him. Blood dripped from the large wound when he came back down to his knees. "All right…" His voice was pained, but he looked up excitedly. "I was right to anger you. Now I'll see what you can really do!" He ripped out the spear from his arm.

She slashed the air with her sword, launching a wave of icy air at the Jolteon. "Do you want more pain?" she hissed.

The Jolteon avoided using the arm, but he had a smile that made Kylie uncomfortable. In his uninjured arm, lightning cackled. "Do you want more pain too?" He whipped it at Kylie. It flew faster than she was expecting, but Grant stepped in and blocked it with Protect.

"Be careful." He looked back with that smile. "You looked pretty badass summoning those ice blades, but take it easy, ok?"

Kylie was breathing heavily. It exerted a lot of pressure on her physically, and she had been hurt on the side. She wouldn't be able to keep this up.

Grant was going at it with Aaron while she rested, black blasts interrupted with bolts of lightning. Neither of them seemed to talk much, but they were fairly evenly matched.

Then the Jolteon threw a blast of lightning. Grant had just missed an attack, and overestimated. It caught Grant square in the chest. The Umbreon froze as the shock hit him.

"No!" shouted Kylie.

The Jolteon fell forward, seemingly unconscious.

Kylie stood up, side shaking. The Jolteon turned to her, and suddenly, she felt the electricity flowing through her body again. She screamed in pain, falling back to her knees. "That hit isn't going to go away in a few minutes." The Jolteon walked next to her. "I know that you've really had a tough time." He crouched down next to her. His voice wasn't as angry as usual, sounding almost sympathetic. "So I hope you'll forgive me for this." His fist crackled with electricity.

"That's enough." An unfamiliar voice rang out surprisingly close to her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and stiffened.

"Who…" She didn't dare turn around. The voice was extremely familiar… yet… she couldn't place it.

"Kai. What are you doing here?" The Jolteon stood up. "Hmph."

She felt him lean down next to her. "Are you hurt?"

Kylie finally looked. Next to her crouched a Vaporeon. She couldn't see his face, but he had the fins behind his ears that let her know his species. His fairly long dark blue hair shook slightly. He wore a buttoned down shirt and black pants. Then he looked at her. She felt like she had seen his face before. His eyes were gentle, colored the same as his marine colored hair. His eyes were gentle and friendly, but she could definitely sense the intelligence behind them. "Are you hurt?" he asked again.

"Uhm…" She couldn't speak.

He sighed, and lifted up her shirt a little. She wasn't too sure why she didn't object. The Vaporeon murmured, "Aqua Ring." She felt a coolness flow through the wound, soothing her. She felt her body slowly recover, but her exerted energy didn't return yet. "All better now… I hope," he said. He rubbed her stomach a bit before standing up. He smiled at her slightly before turning to Aaron.

"How badly hurt is Grant?"

"I'm fine." The Umbreon groaned before sitting up. "Just… paralyzed."

Aaron snorted. "They're defeated. Do what you want with them." Kylie felt satisfaction as the Jolteon held his arm and flinched a little.

The Vaporeon sighed. "That Thunder Wave did some damage. Eat this." The Vaporeon handed Grant a lum berry, which he ate before standing up.

"Kylie! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She felt happy he was so concerned for her. Then it hit her; the Vaporeon who had helped her was the one that was the most powerful of them all. "What are you doing here?" The Jolteon seemed to have vanished.

Grant didn't say anything.

"I was watching your battle. This plant isn't fun for a water type, but… I'm not going to let him kill you. Any of you."

He sure didn't sound like what she had expected. "You're Kai, aren't you?"

The Vapoeon did that slight smile. "That's me. Zero One if you want to go to my government name."

She looked at him. "So why won't you attack us then?"

He gave her a lum berry too. "Why would I attack you? There's a lot better uses for you than dead."

"Oh." She imagined sounding stupid. She was too infatuated with him. Just because he had saved her and was handsome and kind was no reason to change. She blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Read into that whatever you like. I've seen enough to know that you're not actually going to kill me. Maybe Aaron, but not me."

Grant stood up now. "About time." He rubbed his arms. "I was hoping you'd be around here."

"I've been following this young lady for a few days now. Even if we are opponents, I can't let her die."

Grant looked at the Vaporeon, then bowed his head. "I'm surprised you're so similar to when we last met."

The Vaporeon sighed. "There is a lot to talk about. But I cannot let you bring me in."

"I know." There was shouting below. Grant peered down. "You'd better start leaving. I'll give you a pass here. The workers are coming." The Umbreon turned to Kylie. "Is that okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah! Go on."

The Vaporeon looked ready to run, but he paused. He turned to Kylie, and said, "Here, take this." He gave her a disc. "This contains some information you may want to know. Up to you."

She looked at it, then said, "Uh, thanks?"

"If you want to know more, meet me at that sandwich shop you were at yesterday. Bring your sister along too. 8:30 at night."

Grant looked at the Vaporeon, then chuckled. "All right, get going."

The Vaporeon slipped through the mesh as he became water before appearing on the ground below them, running off.

Kylie sighed loudly, and Grant said, "Are you okay?"

"Just… really… really tired." She fell over, and the Raichu from earlier climbed up.

"What happened?"

"We were just looking around. No damage, don't worry."

The two eons spent an hour explaining what had happened.

**All right, read and review if you're excited!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE: DINNNER AT THE SECRET FOUNTAIN**

"You know, I couldn't figure out her weak point." Kai, Aaron, and William all sat on the roof of a tall skyscraper, feet hanging over the edge. "That's what I was so intrigued by. Her sister is stronger right now, according to you Aaron."

"Yes. That Leafeon is strong. I watched a little after you left the plant Kai. She'll cause me problems, I admit."

"Strange to hear you admit that," laughed William. "But what do you mean by you couldn't figure her out?"

The Vaporeon adjusted his collar. "She got exceptionally more powerful, Aaron. You saw it too. She caused some pretty serious damage to your arm. You're lucky I've got all my Acid Armor and Aqua Ring. But she has a very high potential. That's what I mean."

William punched Aaron in the shoulder. "Yeah, she got you good I hear. And you weren't supposed to actually hit Grant."

"He got in the way."

"Calm down." Kai pulled himself up. "Grant's okay now. There's no need to fight." He did add, "But you did attack him."

"Tsk, he got in the way."

"I really hope you get your ass kicked," sighed William, standing too.

"Shut up. As if."

It was 4:13, but the light pollution was strong enough so that they could all see well. "They're going to meet you tonight?"

"I hope so. I told them 8:30… but they're not going to come."

"Hmph. You sure sound confident," grunted Aaron.

William explained it. "She's not going to watch it yet. She's still uncertain of what to think." The Flareon looked at Kai. "That was bold of you to reveal yourself already. She could have turned on you."

"Ah well." The Vaporeon smiled. "She's certainly interesting. I think that it would be wise to obtain her as an ally."

William and Aaron looked across the skyscrapers. "You think she'll meet you tonight?"

"I don't think she will. Her sister too. But we need them. They'll help us win over Jasmine."

"I think Grant's already working on that."

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Kylie thought about just throwing it away. The disc she had been given was right on her desk. She hadn't watched anything on it yet.

But these past few days had absolutely drained her. She had completely changed her view on life, and she was sure that the video would change it again. She shouldn't have trusted the Vaporeon, but she did. And she knew it was dangerous to do that.

The thing that she hated was that he had been stalking her. He had seen her at the restaurant, and it was probably him on the bridge. She couldn't remember if he admitted that or not. And she wasn't even mad about it. She hated herself for that. A good spy should have been suspicious. If she hadn't been attacked by the Jolteon, she never would have gotten distracted like this. She would still be one of the best spies in the world. But she also would never have seen all that went on.

She made sure to pull the drapes over her glass door, and turned on the television again.

"Lily… I… I promise to protect you." It was her favorite romance, _In the Rain._ The story was rather cheesy and all, but she loved the way it played out. A pretty Espeon was on the TV, hugging the Vaporeon lead. He held her tight. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault!" blurted the Espeon. "I… I just... I want to love you. But I can't. I was betrayed by someone I trusted."

She was envious of their relationship. Love like this only happened in stories, with one made for another. It was clear that Tsunami and Lily would fall in love. They went on a journey and became closer and closer. But there was no such thing in real life. She rubbed her head. "Sheesh, wake up. That Vaporeon was obviously trying to seduce you. He wants to trick you. Perhaps that disc is tracking or something. Throw it out." But she couldn't bring herself to do that. Reluctantly, she just left it on her desk.

She couldn't really imagine the Vaporeon's face now. She remembered that he was quite good looking, but generally average height and maybe slightly more muscular than most. He really didn't stand out much; it was no wonder he was such a great assassin… who didn't kill. Even though he didn't do anything, she could feel the skill he had.

But she was just grateful that he had saved them. The Jolteon had sounded hesitant to finish her, but maybe she was just imagining it. Whatever the case, she would beat that Jolteon soon.

Her mission was to bring in all three of them, and she wouldn't be distracted. She filled a glass with water, and gulped it down. Even if she had been in awe of the Vaporeon, she would still defeat him. He was another target.

She looked at the clock. 8:08. He had told her to meet him at 8:30. She probably could make it if she ran. But… she told herself not to. She wouldn't be swayed. The next time she saw him, they would be enemies. She would not be swayed.

Then she decided to call up Grant, unsure of what to think.

He answered before she could ask anything. "Kylie?"

She recognized Grant's voice. "Hey Grant."

"How are your wounds?"

"Healing better. That Vaporeon healed them up pretty well actually."

Grant murmured something, then said, "So how did you think of him?"

"He doesn't really seem like an enemy of the government. He didn't seem to think of himself as our foe."

"Are you going to meet him?"

"I wasn't planning to. But-"

"Kylie?" Someone else was on the phone now; she recognized Jasmine's voice. "Oh thank goodness, you're all right."

She heard Grant in the background. "I told you she was fine."

"What are you two doing together?"

"Grant took quite a bit of damage. He needed someone to clean his wounds and all. He'll be fine now though."

"What?"

"Listen, I heard that Kai invited you out. If you're planning to meet him, bring Aria with you. You don't want to be there with him alone."

Grant coughed. "Are you going to finish helping me or what?"

"Oh just wait." The Espeon sounded as if she wanted to say something, then said, "I've got some pills for you, so you should come down to Grant's place ASAP. It'll regulate your power point usage and blood pressure. And… anything feel funny?"

"Umm, slight headache? I'm just tired though."

"Good. In that case- hey!"

Grant snatched the phone from the Espeon, who grumbled something she couldn't make out. "All right, Kylie, there's kind of a lot of nasty stuff on me, so I'm going to need Jasmine to HURRY UP AND FIX ME." He sighed. "Sorry, I'll call you back later." He hung up.

Kylie was mildly surprised. "Umm… okay."

She thought about calling Jen, but her Sylveon friend was probably hanging out with Liam. And Aria… Aria had come up a little bit later, though she apologized for the delay. Her sister had really seemed out of it… but she hadn't said much. She'd tell her sister about what had happened tomorrow… now, she just needed to walk.

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The air was cooler than the previous nights, and Kylie wasn't going to complain about it. It was a Friday night, and lots of Pokemon were happily talking with friends or romantic partners. Kylie walked past, ignoring them for the most part. The streets were relatively empty, and it made the loneliness seem even stronger. She sighed. She really wished that she could drive across the bay and go to the beach she had visited with Jasmine, but she wanted to walk.

She didn't know if he was watching her, but it didn't concern her if he was. It was rather tempting to go swimming, but the beach here wasn't as nice, and she didn't have her swimwear on obviously. She sighed again, then walked on through the streets.

"Huh, you really thought you could escape me, punk?"

Kylie looked down a dark alleyway. "Always the damn alleyways," she muttered.

A teenage Combusken was kicking some poor Piplup on the ground. "Give me the money!"

Kylie clenched her fist, and walked closer. "Knock it off."

The fire-type turned around. "What are you going to do, bitch?"He turned around and glared at Kylie. "Sheesh, you're pretty hot. Nice tits and you're kinda cute. Hehe, come over here."

She walked over. "Whatever."

"Yes, come closer, I'll-GAH!"

She had frozen him feet up the moment she came close enough to. That was roughly ten feet away.

The Piplup screamed; she only looked about 9 or so. Kylie kneeled down to her, and rubbed her shoulders. "Hey, it's all right. He's just frozen. He'll thaw in a few hours, but you should be okay."

"What?" she said in a high pitched voice.

"I'll take him to the police and explain what happened. I can convince them."

The Piplup cried and ran away. "I'm sorry!"

"Hey, wait! Come back…" Kylie sighed, and stood up again. She shouldn't have done that. She picked up the fire type, and left him outside the police station. He was holding what looked like some Bitter Roots, often used to achieve euphoria. That was enough. "What a pain…"

She walked through the alleyway, emerging in another street. This one had a French feel, with cobblestone and brick buildings along the side. She had never been here before.

A small archway tangled with vines, but it was a surprisingly clean looking archway. She walked through, not thinking much of what might be on the other side.

She heard some water trickling as she went through the short, dark corridor. Unsure of what it was, she was very cautious. But when she saw a fountain, she relaxed a little.

There was a nice little courtyard in the center. The moon lit up only half of it. There was a stone fountain that looked like it had been standing for ages. A Dewgong or something spat water from its mouth off the top.

Grass surrounded the fountain, aside from a small stone pathway leading up to it. It was surrounded by what she assumed were houses. There were windows on the buildings from almost every side, and a ladder that led up to a dip on the roofs was the only other way out. That should have been a warning sign for any agent. But there was nothing even remotely harmful around, and it was very serene. She didn't sense anyone watching her, so she let her guard down a little.

The bubbling of the fountain drowned out the occasional car passing by, and she watched the crescent moon as clouds aimlessly drifted by.

"Man, you've became really monk-like, recently," she said to herself. "Walks on the beach, resting in small courtyards…"

She heard a window opening, and stood up, ready to react. But she didn't need to worry.

A Luxray stuck his head out, then looked down. "Oh, what do we have here? I thought I sensed somebody in the courtyard."

She sighed, then relaxed a little. He didn't seem threatening. "Sorry…"

"No, it's fine. We just don't get too many Pokemon around this part of town." He leaned out a little more. "I thought you were someone else for a moment."

"No, I've never been here before."

The Luxray looked in his early to mid-twenties. "Well, a pretty girl like you should be careful. This part of town isn't the worst, but there's still some creeps."

"Of course."

The two of them got into a pretty long conversation. It was nice to talk to a Pokemon with seemingly no connection to the government. It was nothing major; mostly just some news and a little bit of chitchat.

Finally, he said, "Well then, have a good night."

"You as well." The window closed, but she could sense him still watching her for a few more minutes before he seemed to leave.

She adjusted her bangs slightly before standing up, and getting ready to leave. But as she walked through the arch, she heard a shout. The Luxray was standing on the ladder. He was climbing down quickly, wearing gym shorts and a tank top.

"What's your name?"

"Uh, Kylie." She blinked. "Do I know you well or something?"

"No you don't. Wait, are you single?"

"Excuse me?" She blushed a little, but stayed calm.

His face turned red too as he held up his hands. "Oh, no! Not for me! I know your species have been encouraged to stick with your own kind! I've got a good friend who comes here a lot. I think you'd like to meet him."

"Umm…"

"I figured that you came here because you're lonely, no?"

"Umm…"

He blinked, then said, "Oh, sorry! I guess that was inconsiderate… but listen, just come here again tomorrow. I think he might be here too."

She sighed. A spy like her shouldn't be getting involved in stuff like this. "You really are strange. I don't even know your name."

He held out a hand. "Marcus. I mean… you don't have to come or anything. But I think that you'd like to meet him. He's kind of lonely too…"

She hesitantly shook it. "Well… I don't really have anything. I don't make promises, but… tell him not to get his hopes up."

"That's good. I mean… I sense that you two would get along very well. 8:00."

She nodded, then waved as the Luxray turned around. "All right then."

Kylie walked back to her apartment, simultaneously enjoying and hating her solitude. Maybe she should try being more outgoing. She hadn't thought of Grant too much for some reason, but she had just called him, and he had been quite busy. It was almost eleven now, and she barely realized how tired she was. She had taken a nap earlier, but she still felt out of it.

After nearly falling asleep while washing herself, she brushed her teeth and dozed off nearly instantly.

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"Hmm… so this is the most powerful government weapon? He doesn't look like very much, you know." Two hooded Pokemon watched through bionoculars. This voice was female.

"Hey, don't underestimate him. He was the top assassin that we've ever trained. True, we've been modified slightly, but the Code Zero program is a lot more potent in terms of modification." This voice was lower and more masculine. "And I know better than anyone."

"Psh, I worked with that little Glaceon. It'll be pretty easy to incapacitate her if she turned against us."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're doing some observing now… Elise."

"You don't need to tell me, Avore. I know to keep my hands to myself when I have to."

Avore huffed. "Sheesh, he's just going grocery shopping and stuff. I really wish he'd do something that we could report somewhat."

Elise giggled. "Come on now, Avore. We've already located him. That's good enough. But it's surprising to see him so…"

"Unaware."

"Yeah." She sighed. "Well, let's get going now. We've already got lots to report."

Avore watched a little while longer. "If we were more prepared, we could have brought him in. But this isn't going to help us," he grumbled. "He could live on the other side of town." He turned around, following his female partner down the stairs.

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Kai thought that he sensed someone watching him. Being an assassin, he was adept at sensing others. But he couldn't locate them. They were quite skilled at hiding themselves.

They left before he could do anything or react. He thought it could have been Jasmine or maybe one of the two sisters, but he couldn't tell for sure. There was a sense of familiarity though.

He carried the groceries out of store, and decided to walk back to his place. It wasn't too far away thankfully, but he was a little more cautious than normal after the incident outside the grocery store.

As expected, the Glaceon nor her sister had come to the restaurant last night, but he had only waited outside for a short amount of time. He shouldn't have been disappointed, but he was, if only slightly.

He checked the time. It was 7:12. He had to hurry.

Kai wasn't a big fan of carrying his sword around in public; he was quite envious of the Glaceon's small hilt that could be frozen longer. Water itself could badly hurt, but controlling it needed an object, and that was what the physical blade was for. Tonight, despite being an agent, he didn't bring any sort of weapon. It could have been very bad if the stalkers had attacked him, but thankfully, they left him alone.

The groceries weren't particularly heavy, but he owed a good amount to his good friend. Giving him a place to stay sometimes made it easy for him to stay hidden from the government. And he even had a girlfriend staying at his place.

But that didn't bother Kai. He wasn't around too often, and he did his best not to bother the pretty Ninetales. She didn't seem to mind Kai that much.

In return for his friend's help, he'd bring them groceries and cook for them. In this case, he was going to prep his friend dinner.

He knocked on the door. "Hello?" The door opened, revealing Marcus the Luxray.

His eyes lit up. "So you did come! I thought you'd be away for awhile! But that's great. Come on in!"

"Oh, that sounds like Kai!" A Ninetales peeked around the corner.

"How are you, Mikayla?"

"Great! So… how's work been? You haven't been coming around as often."

"Eh, I'm real busy. But you guys are just real close. It gets lonely living on your own, you know."

Marcus chuckled. "You like being a loner though. I guess that's why that government thing never went through, eh?"

Kai always felt bad lying to his longtime friend, but… it was imperative. He didn't want anyone to know who he really was until they could secure those files. "Yeah…"

Kai washed his hands while talking with Marcus.

"So… do you have enough for four tonight?"

Kai didn't turn around. "Four? For what?"

"I met a really sweet girl. Don't worry Mikayla…"

She sighed a little, but continued reading her book. "Whatever."

"Sweet girl? What species?" Kai cut through the meat on the cutting board. "It's strange you'd say that with your girlfriend around, no?"

"Well… seeing you're lonely and all… I thought that you'd like to know her."

"Huh." He had already finished cutting the meat, and began shaving some carrots. "You know that I'm awkward around most others. My years with the government make me a nervous wreck," he added.

"She was real quiet too though. She was in our courtyard in back about nine or so, but I told her to come about eight. I'm sure you'll love her."

"I doubt that." Kai sighed, dicing up some onions.

"She was a real cutie, you know. A Glaceon."

Kai dropped the knife, paused, then picked it up quickly. "How old about?"

"She looked in her early twenties. Somewhat younger than us."

"If you say so. I look forward to meeting her."

"She was really pretty. I think you two will get along well.

Kai thought about what to do. He had no weapons here, but at the same time, she was still a government agent. They were not allowed to let outsiders know. She wouldn't be able to attack him if he stayed here. It was lucky, but he'd be able to talk to her and advance the plan.

"You look like you're thinking about something. Sheesh, no need to think about how to act around her."

"You know… do you even know her?" Kai was rather curious. "I mean, you did say that you met her only last night, so I mean…"

"She reminded me of you. You were always so studious in high school, and she had that same intensity as you," said the Luxray. "She might be a good… you know…" His friend winked at Kai, and he sighed.

Kai's friend had always been popular. Mikayla was a model who was known throughout the nation, but she had been raised in the farm. She didn't like the big city, so even though his friends were actually quite rich from that, they liked this place. And Marcus himself was one of the executives of the power plant; after all the ruckus they had caused yesterday, Kai felt obligated to make it up to him.

"I'm really busy. If I had time to search around for a girlfriend, I could probably find someone. Of course, she probably wouldn't be our species, but…"

"That's why! You really should try to hook up with her!"

Kai smiled a little. Marcus had no idea what was actually going on here. "We'll see. But I'm a little hesitant."

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Kylie decided to visit the courtyard again. He was strange, but he seemed relatively unconcerned with her, so she figured that meeting him and some friend for dinner wasn't that bad. She really did want to meet other Pokemon, and her sister Aria had encouraged her as well.

"Yeah, Jasmine invited me to her place for dinner as well. She told me to ask you, but I think it'd be good for you! He seems to be interested in you!"

Kylie thought that too, but if he was inviting a friend, it seemed rather unlikely. It seemed more like he was trying to hook her up with his friend. She didn't mind, though she wasn't necessarily eager either.

Today, she decided to wear her pure white dress. Kylie really only had dresses. She would use them when she had assignments as a cover, but it had just sort of stuck with her. She thought that dresses were elegant and cute, but also modest. Tonight, she decided to wear slightly nice sandals.

It always amused her to compare Aria to herself. Aria was always wearing a leather jacket, and loved sunglasses. She was such a tomboy, but there Kylie knew that Aria was a cutie deep down, and that was what kept them close.

Kylie didn't know what Aria thought of her, but Aria when they were younger, the Leafeon had always called her, "Vengeful Snowballs Princess". It was a reference to her tendency to hold grudges, her fairly large bust size, and her love of dresses. Kylie would always get irritated sometimes, claiming she didn't hold grudges, and that her breasts were smaller for a Glaceon. Though she couldn't deny that dresses were one of her favorite things.

As she walked towards the courtyard, she wondered who the Luxray's friend was. Maybe it was an Absol. She'd always like Absols. They were always cool and badass. Of course, they were dark types too, and they weren't as friendly as Grant. It didn't matter though. She obviously couldn't become romantically involved with someone who didn't know her for what she really was.

Finally, she arrived at the fountain. She sat down, not really sure exactly what to expect. It was already 8:12. She wondered if she had come to the wrong place.

"Oh, there you are!"

She spun around to see Marcus waving at her from the window. "Come around to the other side!"

"Oh, okay."

The window closed, and she walked around to the other side of the building. The other side was quite nice as well, with the same sort of style as the courtyard. The front door was made of stained glass, with a mix of yellow and black colors.

It opened up. "All right, come on in."

Kylie took off her sandals, then stepped in. The house was very well furnished. Something smelled delicious. The Luxray smiled at her. "My friend's doing the cooking. He's staying over right now."

A Ninetales peered around the corner. Her build was definitely female, and she looked a little familiar. "Oh, you must be the girl that Marcus was telling me about. You really are quite beautiful!"

The Ninetales was gorgeous, with well defined features. Kylie couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen this lady before. She looked about the same age as the Luxray. "Do I know you?"

The Luxray laughed. "This is Mikayla Emberheart. She's my girlfriend."

Kylie now realized it. "Aren't you… a supermodel?"

She blushed. "Sort of… well, yes. But you've certainly got the features to become a great model as well."

Kylie shook her head. "No need to flatter me."

"All right, I'm all done. Marcus, can you…" From behind the Ninetales stepped a Vaporeon wearing a plaid jacket over a buttoned up shirt. He looked at her.

Kylie stepped back, reaching for her weapon, only to realize it wasn't there.

**All right, read and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX: AWAKEN**

"Kylie, what are you doing?" Marcus' voice snapped her back. "You look like you were reaching for something, but…"

The Vaporeon looked at her hard. She glared at him, then realized what he meant. _You attack me, they'll learn the truth. You know what that means._

She forced herself to calm down. "Who is this Vaporeon?" she asked curiously, faking to the best of her ability.

The Ninetales smiled. "This is Kai. He's one of our longtime friends. All three of us went to grade school together!"

"Oh, is that so?"

The Vaporeon was one hell of an actor, because he seemed curious. If he hadn't given her that look, she could have mistaken him as a different Pokemon. "Come on, Marcus. Introduce me to this beautiful lady." He dried off his hands with a towel and threw it on the counter. "I'm Kai."

"I… I am Kylie!"

Marcus laughed a little, and his girlfriend nudged him. "What's so funny?"

"His… his name… it's inside… yours!"

The Ninetales groaned. "You're so immature."

The Vaporeon smiled a little; it was that same one that had made Kylie's heart pound at the power plant. "As always." He looked at Kylie. "So how old are you?"

"I'm nineteen. I'm almost twenty though."

He seemed to think about it, then said, "You're lucky to be young. I'm twenty four already."

"That's not that much older," she commented, doing her best to make conversation to avoid any suspicion.

"I guess you're right." He turned away, and walked back. "Well, I spent a few hours cooking. I'll set the table."

Kylie sat on the couch next to the other two, who were smiling at her. "I see that look in your eyes."

"What do you mean?"

"You looked so shocked when you saw him! He's better looking than you expected, right?" began the Ninetales.

"Shocked is the word," said Kylie. Though not for the reasons they said.

Marcus looked at her, then said, "Kai is a great guy. Girls always swooned over him, but… he always insisted on finding his soul mate."

"What makes you think that's me?" sighed Kylie. "I'm much younger than you all."

"I just saw him. His… he just matches with you. Even looks. And personality."

"Perhaps… but that's not everything." She took a deep breath, and suddenly smelled it; her favorite. Snow Pea soup with fish. Her favorite from when she had been at the orphanage with Aria and Grant. Preferably cold… but this… the smell was so nostalgic… and delicious.

"Your eyes just lit up," commented Mikayla. "The food smell good, doesn't it?"

"It really does… did he actually cook it?"

"As a matter of fact… yes! He always enjoys cooking. Cooking, sword fighting, and is even a government worker!"

The Vaporeon's voice came around the corner. "Hey now, don't need to impress her." He waved them all over. "I'm nothing more than part of water management."

"Oh, so you work in resource management? Cool," said Kylie casually.

"Yes. Where do you work?"

"Er… I do minor stuff for the government. Nothing major."

"Well, let's eat!" interrupted Marcus. "Could you pass the steamed vegetables please, Kai?"

Mikayla leaned over, and whispered to Kylie. "He's a great guy, don't you think?"

Kylie didn't answer. Would he actually try attack them all? She doubted it. If they were all actually longtime friends, she didn't know why he'd attack them. He really looked quite relaxed; he clearly knew that she couldn't do anything. It was frustrating. Finally, she said, "He seems pretty chill."

"Kylie, would you like some soup?" asked the Vaporeon.

"Oh, uh, sure."

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Grant stretched before reaching into his pocket. He had a few cuts all around that Jasmine had treated yesterday, but he felt better now. He had talked with the other three males about what was going to happen next.

Kai was going to meet some longtime friends for dinner. Aaron and William were both busy with an assignment.

At least Aaron had apologized. "Listen… sorry Grant. I got too caught up in the battle and forgot what it was really for."

Grant had waved it off. "Don't worry about it."

"I owe you one," is all the short tempered Jolteon had said before leaving.

Grant exhaled. Today was actually his birthday, but he doubted that any of his friends had remembered. Kylie hadn't talked to him at all today. Aria had sent him some texts, though they had only talked for about 15 minutes before she said that she needed to go running(which wasn't surprising). He was rather disappointed that Jasmine hadn't sent him anything. But he didn't blame her for forgetting. She was very busy.

He opened the door, and was surprised to find the light on inside already. He frowned. "Who's there?" He materialized his black whip, though didn't attack yet.

He looked around, and saw a light on in his bedroom. "If that's you, Jasmine…"

She stepped out of his room. "Of course it's me, I'm the only other one with a key to your apartment! There wasn't any damage to the door right?"

"Wh-what are you… wearing?"

She was wearing a pink two-piece bikini. She wore her normal jacket over it though. Jasmine often wore cropped tops, so seeing her navel exposed was nothing new to him. She did have a very nice belly. But everything else… was just new… and… "What do you think?" she asked with a wink. She had a lollipop in her mouth, and pulled it out. "I figured this would make a good birthday present for you."

"Just… wow." He wasn't sure where to start. He had always known she'd had a great figure, but… well, even this caught him by surprise.

She giggled. "Oh, come on now. We've been to the beach together."

"Oh, right." He'd forgotten about a year and a half ago, they'd both went to the beach. "Yeah…" He rubbed his neck. He'd been just as surprised… but still.

"So… what do you want to do?"

"Umm… what?" Grant knew he should have said something. But he was still too shocked. He had developed feelings for Jasmine over the two years. But see her throwing near naked body at him was still…

"Well… I mean," She pointed at her chest. "I mean, isn't there anything you want to do to me? They're bigger than most, you know…" She added, "Do you really want them bigger?!"

"No, they're great! But…"

She threw off the jacket, and Grant knew what was next. It was embarrassing to see an agent like himself collapsing under this intense sexual pressure. "The top is next," she winked.

Grant made the decision in an instant. He hugged her tightly, hands gripping her bare back. He felt her chest press against his ribs, but took deep breaths to avoid losing it. "Jasmine…"

"So… do you find me… hot?"

"Definitely. But… not now." He spoke softly into her ear. "But yes. I really like you. So don't take this the wrong way."

The Espeon wrapped her arms around his back, then murmured, "I'm sorry. I forgot to take my meds. I'm all messed up and horny and stuff. And… I… thought about you. And realized it was your birthday… and it seemed like a great plan."

"I suspected so."

"I was going to take you out to dinner initially, but… it all changed, and…"

He released his grip, as did the Espeon. "Listen, what do you say we go see a movie or something? It's still relatively early."

She blinked at him, then smiled. "I'd like that."

He reached into a drawer, then pulled out some of his own pills. "These are male designed. It's not as effective on you, but it should ease your… desires until tomorrow. Then we can go get you your meds."

"Thank you." She dipped her head in appreciation. "Well…" She stood up straight, sounding more like her old self. "I'll go throw some clothes on."

Grant nodded, then felt obligated to say, "That's a cute bikini."

She looked at him, then giggled a little, her cheeks reddish. "Thank you."

Grant smiled. "So how do you think the sisters are doing?"

"They should be a big asset against the trio. Aria's becoming quicker, and Kylie is growing as well." She paused. "I hope they remembered their meds."

"I hope so too… we don't want-"

Then a phone rang. Jasmine reached onto the bed, picking it up. "Hello, Aria?" Her face froze a little, before she nodded. "Yes. I understand. The guards told you? I see… we'll get over as soon as possible… yeah, Grant's with me. Okay. Hang on."

"What was that?" Her voice had sounded a little concerned.

"Aria. She said that Zero Two and Zero Three are breaking in now!"

"She's at the facility?!" Grant shook his head. Things were going to get ugly quick.

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Kylie was happy. With a Pokemon that was regarded as her target sitting across from her, she never thought she'd say that. But hearing the three longtime friends talking and laughing… she felt together. It felt as if she had made three friends. And one was her enemy.

She irritated that she was so off guard, but it felt natural. They included her, even the Vaporeon. They talked about embarrassing moments from high school.

"Then I fell into the pool!" laughed Marcus. "I was so shocked that I electrified the water! You should have seen Kai fly out of it!"

Mikayla was laughing so much her eyes were teary. "Boy, was Kai pissed! After Marcus climbed out, he outran him! You know how they say Vaporeons are slow? Not this one!"

"Yeah, this guy tackled me! Literally!"

The Vaporeon smirked. "Why would you electrify the water and run away though? It kind of hurt."

Kylie imagined a younger version of the Vaporeon chasing the Luxray. "So you seem like a real calm guy, but…"

"He's a killer!" joked Mikayla. "Man, he could have badly hurt Marcus. Me and some friends had to rip him off!"

"Okay, he was beating me, but it wasn't that bad…"

"You were unconscious! How is that not 'that bad'?"

"Wow…" murmured Kylie. Of course she knew he was dangerous. This came as no surprise to her. But for them to know it… he was quite good at remaining quiet.

"So tell us about you, Kylie." The Vaporeon looked at her.

She was a little shocked, but said, "Of course. I mean… I'm not sure where to start though."

The Vaporeon was pouring himself some water now, not looking at her any more. She knew she had to be cautious not to reveal anything vital to him or the other couple. "Tell us about your family."

"Well… I have a twin sister. She's a Leafeon. Her name is Aria, and she works with me. Our parents… well… I didn't know them. They were killed by the XY Fever." XY Fever was a disease that had decimated Eeeveelution population over a decade ago, killing males and females alike. Many males that remained were damaged genetically, becoming sterile. "It killed our father, and our mother died later due to unknown causes."

"Oh my… I'm sorry to hear that…" murmured Mikayla.

Kai blinked. Even he seemed a little surprised, though she didn't know if he was just faking it. "That's a tough place to grow up in," was what he finally said. "But you turned out to be quite successful."

"I'm still young." She shifted her feet. "Success isn't only money, but… I suppose that I am lucky." She brushed her bangs out of her face, and looked at the Vaporeon. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"How did you grow up?"

Marcus and Mikayla both looked at her, but she ignored them.

He exhaled, then said, "Come outside, please."

"Why?" She had grown… not necessarily comfortable, but she had begun to doubt her mission a little. Just a little. But she still feared that he might attack her. She had no weapon.

"Marcus and Mikayla already know a lot about me." He said it in a way that led her to believe that they didn't know everything. He added, "I promise I won't hurt you."

His voice was so calm and quiet. She shouldn't have, but she nodded in agreement, then followed him outside.

They walked around, Kylie being cautious. Finally, he sat on the rim of the fountain. "Sit," he said.

She was hesitant, but he added, "Trust me."

"All right, why did you call me outside?"

"Grant would tell me a lot about you when we met. He'd speak fondly of you. He said that you're… not like others."

"In what way?" she asked, actually curious.

"Determined. He always spoke of you as if you would always make sure to get the last word in. But never cocky."

"Well, I… I do feel I'm strong. But not strong enough." She clenched her fist, feeling the irritation rising again. "That Jolteon… he's gotten me twice now."

Kai shook his head. "Aaron isn't the worst. He enjoys battling strong Pokemon. It's a compliment that he keeps attacking you. He could have killed you, but even if I hadn't stepped in, I'm willing to bet he'd have let you live. Aaron's killed more Pokemon than you can probably imagine, and it haunts him." Water from the fountain gently flowed up, defying gravity, until it engulfed his right hand. He held up that hand. "It's natural to want to defeat us. But… have you thought about why defected?"

"You lost your temper and everything, and the genes made you homicidal."

"So that's what they tell you…" He shook his head. "If Aaron was a killed, you'd be dead by now, I guarantee. And do I look like a killer?"

"Well…"

"Just something to think about." The glob of water dissolved into a cloud of cool mist. "Now, about my past. You told me yours, so fair is fair. I'll be brief though."

Kylie was actually curious to hear him speak. But she had to ask one thing. "Do I know you?"

He looked at her, then she thought she saw him almost blush a little. "Probably not. I am five years older than you. But why?"

"I don't know. It's not right for me to be so trusting."

He blinked, then said, "Let's just say my childhood was rough. I was not normal, and I wasn't raised normally. My fate as an assassin was decided for me before I was even born. They tested me in preparation for my assassination duties, which is why I only have two good friends. And I didn't become what they expected. The Krusent family has history as one of the top assassin bloodlines in the world. Obviously, we keep quiet, but our prime minister personally knows our family. But we are traditionally Umbreons. We use our stealth and smarts to get in a make silent, clean kills. I can name a good 15 generals and presidents that have been assassinated by one of my ancestors."

"But you don't kill… and you're not an Umbreon."

"Exactly. I wouldn't kill even the Pidgeys on our family's farm. They deemed me as a failure." He sighed. "I don't want to go real in-depth, but… well, they attempted to torture me to make me stronger, and as an Eevee, they would often tie me underwater, and force me to escape. One day, I did basically drown. But as fate would have it, a water stone was underneath the surface, and I became what I am now."

She blinked. "So… you nearly died."

"That wasn't the only time." His eyes grew a little dark. "They were horrified to see me become a Vaporeon. Vaporeons aren't as stealthy as Umbreons, and while we are similar speed wise, Umbreons have greater bursting speed. And for a Vaporeon, I'm definitely smaller. You're only a couple inches shorter than me."

"What… did they do?"

"They gave me some electroshock therapy to punish my decision to become a water type. I nearly died, and then I decided to run away. My younger sister was always the star of my family, and they poured more work into her. I doubt my parents and grandparents cared that I left."

"That's terrible…"

He smiled at her. "It's nice to get some sympathy. I'd go to school each day and insist that I was fine to Marcus and Mikayla. They were always concerned too."

"But…"

"They don't know. They think I left my parents. But the government wanted me. I was still one of the best swordfighters."

"Kai…"

The Vaporeon stood up. "You don't have to believe what I say. But… just think about why you're chasing us."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Back inside. Are you coming?"

"Uh, all right."

He spoke in a relaxed way. "If you're not going to attack me and I'm not going to attack you, we might as well spare ourselves from this awkwardness."

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William and Aaron stood in front of the government facility, cloaked with sunglasses. "Are you ready?" murmured Aaron.

"I hope so…" The Flareon always appreciated how the Jolteon would cooperate when something needed to get done. "So the old files are unreadable without the hard copy… but these new files…"

"I can track it through the network. There's something going on with the Code Zero program files that my bots have sensed, but… it's unreadable. I'll need to grab the files electronically. It's hidden in their servers. All I need is to adjust the coding a little and my bots will extract the data properly."

"I trust your computer know-how. I've formulated a plan in and a plan out."

Aaron didn't argue. William was fairly solid at planning. "It's important that we stop anything from happening… let's hurry."

"Has that Sylveon mentioned anything?"

"No. But they'd tell her to keep quiet."

"You know what we're here for though. We need to get the data and find out whether they're going to try modify her. She's an obvious target."

"Kai asked me to track her for a few months now, but I don't expect her to tell me everything. Although it is curious that she hasn't been warned of me. But she would become an enemy… and…"

"You don't need to say it. I get the point." Aaron slapped the Flareon on the back. "While it's easy to assume, we still don't know for sure. None of us want any more with our burden."

William nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Well, let's stick to the plan." It was almost ten now, and the streets were deserted. "I've got the time to crack in now, but I'll need you to keep guard."

Aaron pulled out his phone modified with some prongs. He pushed it into the key slot that would unlock the glass, and it opened. "Easy."

"Not bad." A bunch of metal bars were in the way. "They use some Conkeldurrs and Machamps each morning to slid it right?"

"Yeah. You need brute strength. If you may?"

William gripped the metal bars. He focused some heat to his hands to slightly melt it, then used his strength to push open a large hole on the bars. After they climbed through, Aaron closed the glass door again. "A smaller Pokemon could probably fit through those bars," commented William. "You or Kai probably could fit through."

"Perhaps. But the glass doors are the ones with the alarms built in. These bars are probably an afterthought."

"Hmm… it does seem that way."

"Come on, let's go." Aaron was already walking ahead.

"What about the cameras?"

"What about it? The security guards see us, but I guarantee they're not going to attack us. They might call for backup. But even if it's only Jasmine, we can beat her. If those two sisters come, even then, we can just run if we have to."

"Well, we are limiting our time until some level of backup comes though…"

Aaron shrugged. "I know exactly where to go. I've mined the proper locations of the entire facility. The servers are physically on this floor actually. We just have to pass through the botanical lab."

The botanical lab was actually a garden, where researchers would try developing new medicines and cures. "Are there cameras in there?"

"Yeah. There are only two ways out of it though, so if we get trapped, it could be a problem. And the only other way through, unless you feel like blasting through some wall, is to leave and return to a side entrance. We don't have time for that."

"Was it really that hard to disable the cameras? Or even the electricity? I thought you did that last time."

"They reworked the electricals. It'd take me a couple of hours. And the cameras are part of that system too."

"I see…" The Jolteon plugged in his phone, and instantly, the doors opened to reveal the pollen-like smell of the garden.

They both stepped onto the soft grassy ground. William immediately froze. "There's no birds here."

"I thought it's night. The bird Pokemon live in harmony with the researchers. We've got no problem."

"Well, isn't it strange that none of them are making a sound?"

Aaron shrugged. "I've never been here, honestly. So I wouldn't know."

"I had a feeling you'd come here." They both looked up, caught off guard. Standing in one of the trees was a Leafeon. "I guess my instinct was right."

"Tsk. Move or I'll pound you like I did your sister," threatened Aaron.

William wasn't sure what to do. He was great at killing, but Kai had specifically told them not to kill. Not like he wanted to murder a girl in his same situation. "We're doing this for the good of the nation. All of us."

"I saw what you did to Kylie. You'll pay!" She raised her hands, and suddenly, a cage of vines erupted from the ground, ready to tie down Aaron and William.

He saw Aaron speed away in a blur. William quickly punched the ground, surrounding himself in a vortex of flames that burned all the vines and grass in a ten foot radius. His arm shed its faux skin, revealing the black metal right arm. He stood up, irritated.

The Leafeon looked surprised. "A bionic arm… of that power…" She pulled out two daggers… or rather, they sprouted from the small leaves along her arms. "I cannot let you through!"

She jumped at William, but was intercepted midair by Aaron. "Idiot, don't forget about me!"

He grabbed her midair and threw her to the ground. She was able to roll midair, and tumbled along a bit before getting to her feet, having avoided the brunt of the impact.

"It's a two on one, Leafeon. You'll just get hurt if you get in our way," hissed William. "Back off!"

"Or keep fighting us. It's at your own risk."

"Not yet!" She stood up and waved her left arm. Immediately, three vines erupted from Aaron's feet.

"What the- argh!"

They dragged him to the ground, pinning his arms against him. "Aaron!"

"I expected a Vaporeon instead of you, but it looks like this won't work on you."

"It looks like it won't, Leafeon." He quickly launched a blast of smoky air at her. She got caught partially in the attack, but was able to avoid the brunt of it. It did its job though.

She held her chest coughing a little. "What was that?"

"Smog. You're fighting on a timer now. That poison will constrict your chest until you pass out. And it can be fatal."

She looked up, eyes fiery with determination. He admired her courage in the situation. "I've got a timer on you two already. Grant and Jasmine are on their way here right now."

William narrowed his eyes. "Move right now. Or I'm going to have to finish you. And I can't guarantee it'll be painless."

She coughed, then said, "Never." She raised her hand again, and a thick wall of vines covered the doorway a few hundred feet away. That had been where the servers were.

William growled, then ran at her, bionic arm extended, engulfed in flames. "Flare Blitz!"

The Leafeon braced herself for the attack, eyes closed. William hesitated a bit, then lowered his hit a little. Instead of hitting her in the chest, he aimed for her stomach. When it connected, she flew back about fifty yards with a yelp.

She lay on the ground, badly injured. The blonde Eon wasn't moving.

Aaron broke free of the vines now, and stood up, brushing himself off. "Nice."

William ran over. He leaned over the Leafeon. She tried to sit up, fear in her eyes. But she acted brave. "I'll… I'll still fight you." Blood trickled from her mouth.

The Flareon sighed. "You shouldn't have done that. But I'm not going to kill you."

She closed her eyes weakly.

William's body ached from the hit. It was a full out attack, and he wasn't sure how much more he had in the tank.

"Do you think you can punch through the vines?" asked Aaron. "We'd better get going…"

Then suddenly, they both felt the air grow heavy. "What…"

Both of them were dragged to their knees. "Get away from Aria!" An intense psychic force had locked them down.

Grant and Jasmine had arrived.

**So Chapter 6 is done! Please give me advice! If anything is unclear, I will do my best to help! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN: GRANT AND JASMINE**

"Err, thanks for the food, Kai."

The Vaporeon nodded at her. "Of course. Well, it was very nice meeting you. I'd better be going."

The four of them had finished their meal, and were getting ready to leave. "Um… yes. It was very nice to meet you as well." She smiled at him. "Well, I'm going to leave too."

"Take care you two!" waved Mikayla, and Marcus winked at Kylie. She closed the door behind her, and looked at Kai.

"Well… you'd… better keep an eye out. Because we were both unarmed, we didn't have any reason to attack. But we're still enemies."

He sighed. "I'd hoped you'd consider changing that view. Because you seem like a very interesting lady."

It irritated her that he called her "lady". But it made her happy too. Grant always seemed to look down on her even though she was only a year younger than him. She didn't even know him, but she sensed the Vaporeon respected her. At least she wanted to. "What do you mean by that?"

"Listen… please be cautious of Jasmine."

She frowned. "My enemy warning me about my friend?"

"She has… she has been through a lot. She won't intentionally hurt you… but Grant and her have a connection that is more than just being friends."

"What are you saying?"

The Vaporeon sighed. "Please be careful around Jasmine, especially when you are alone."

"Tell me what you're saying."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I'll decide for myself. You haven't attacked me yet, so there must be some truth to what you say," she reasoned.

"Grant and Jasmine are a team unit. Grant is a stealth expert, who trails Jasmine a lot of time. Jasmine creates openings and Grant finishes the enemy most of the time. That's how they were trained. But upon joining the Code Zero program, they were given some potential unlocking meds like you. Jasmine received a massive boost to her psychic abilities and intelligence. Her psychic powers are pretty outlandish. She can sense life forms, and use it to move pretty massive objects. If she wants to, she could probably level entire buildings. She did once."

Kylie looked up in alarm. "Really? But…"

"It's not that easy. We were attacked after checking out a supposed terrorist attack. She was cut badly, and we were all losing. She lost her temper, and she completely leveled the four story building. Her physical body is still just a little tougher than any other female Espeon, so any physical things could do her harm. And she passed out after the explosion for three days. All five of us were badly injured and we were lucky to escape with out lives."

"That's… amazing," murmured Kylie. She had known the Espeon was strong, but that was otherworldly.

"Which is where we come to Grant and Jasmine's bond. Grant is already almost as smart as Jasmine, while being physically stronger than her. Being a dark type, he has a natural advantage over her. Unbeknownst to Jasmine, all four of us agreed that something needed to be done, and Grant was given a second dose of the Zero formula, this one increasing his dark powers. He is strong enough to completely nullify any of her attacks if he chooses, and is capable of incapacitating her if he chooses. He's her check."

"But doesn't that mean his powers are stronger than hers?"

"Grant cannot cause massive physical destruction like Jasmine. His strength is still his combat prowess."

Kylie was stunned. It made sense; Grant was close to Jasmine because he needed to stop her from destroying the city. "So is she the most powerful?"

"I wouldn't say that. She might have the greatest firepower, but she's also unpredictable. But that's why Grant always needs to stay by her when she fights."

"Why are you helping me? Why would you reveal a weakness of hers to me? Why wouldn't you use that against us?"

The Vaporeon smiled. "You said you could decide for yourself. I'll-"

Kylie's phone began to ring. She looked at the Vaporeon before answering it.

"Zero Seven? Kylie?"

It sounded like one of the heads. "Yes?"

"There's been a break in."

She froze. "Who is it?"

"Your sister called it in. She's… she's in trouble." Kylie's heart stopped.

"Is she… okay?"

"She's alive… but she's sustained some massive injuries."

"What about Grant and Jasmine?"

"They're just arriving now. They might need your help though."

"Gotcha." Her body quivered in anger. Aria… she could not lose her only remaining family. "I'll be there soon…"

"It's Zero Two and Zero Three."

She had expected that. "All right, going over now." She put her phone away, then stopped. The Vaporeon looked straight at her, eyes dangerously dark in the night. "Kai… I've got to go."

"I know what that was about." He sighed, before looking at her intensely. "I cannot let you stop my friends."

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"Get away from Aria!"

Grant watched as the Espeon used her immense psychic abilities to drag the two males to the ground.

Jasmine's eyes were pink with rage, and Grant could feel the air thicken with her anger. "Jasmine, calm down," murmured Grant. He knew he had to do it sooner or later in order for his allies to escape, but after confirming that she thought of him as more than a partner… he wasn't sure he'd be able to go through with it.

"Grant, can you go check up on Aria?"

"Sorry." He'd been wrapped up in his thoughts. He ran over to check his longtime friend. What would she think about him after? After William and Aaron had disabled the scurity, they would have been able to follow the program and hopefully disable the plans. Instead… he would end up having to betray the girls. The Leafeon's face was pained, but there were no tears on her face.

"I did my best to try stop them… I've been having a hard time, so I was just resting in the garden, and then I saw them coming…"

He felt a broken rib. Thankfully, it hadn't seemed to puncture any sort of organ. "You did well, Aria."

"Kylie would have liked to hear you say that…"

Grant turned and nodded at Jasmine. "She's okay. Broken rib I think, but no major damage."

Jasmine's psychic grip was starting to weaken, and the Jolteon stood up. It looked like William was still pretty beat, and he was crouching down.

"Jasmine… damn you," hissed Aaron. "You shouldn't try and stop us. This is for your own good." He seemingly disappeared, then reappeared above Jasmine. A pink barrier blocked the attack, and he jumped back as a Shadow Ball flew at him. He vanished again, and the attack smashed into a tree.

The Espeon closed her eyes, and emitted an intense shockwave of energy. It launched Aaron backwards, and William rolled a little before stopping himself. Grant had to shield Aria.

Aaron had hit the side of the glass, and he looked pretty beat. He coughed up some blood before wiping his mouth. Jasmine's eyes were glowing their intense pink.

"My two friends… you hurt one of them. I won't forgive you!" She raised up her right hand, and a massive boulder floated. It hovered above William.

"Jasmine, stop!" shouted Grant.

"They hurt Aria… she's one of the only friends I have! They were my friends… but now… I will not forgive them!"

Grant held out his hand, and in an instant, a spear of darkness formed. He whipped it at the rock, causing it to split into hundreds of much smaller pieces. "Stop!" He couldn't let anyone hurt his friends… not even the Pokemon whom he loved. Ironic how he was actually going to hurt her to save the other two. But it was the only logical choice to save them. All of them. The immense mental burden could make Jasmine lose herself, and it was nearing that point.

He rolled up his sleeves, and called forth the darkness that could stop his dearest friend. "Forgive me, Jaz…"

Aria watched, eyes wide. She didn't speak. Jasmine was launching discs of psychic energy at the Jolteon, who was tiring. Finally one caught Aaron in the shoulder. He recognized it as near the spot where Kylie had speared him. The Jolteon screeched, and fell down. "That hurt more than the Glaceon's spear."

"I know where you were injured. You were avoiding that arm. But now… more than just your arm will hurt! This is for Aria!"

Grant felt it. He held out his right arm, his fist surrounded with dark energy. Then he triggered the special technique used to restrain Jasmine.

A ring of darkness appeared at the Espeon's feet, and she paused. "What…?"

Then Grant clenched his fist. "This is gonna hurt…"

"What are you saying?" asked Aria.

The Espeon held her chest, and fell to her knees. The ring became a dark black, shadows rising up around the Espeon. "What is this?" She turned around, the anger in her eyes replaced with fear as she looked at Grant. "Grant? What is this?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "But we can't have another incident." He did the final action; a snap of the fingers with his left hand.

Then the shadows completely wrapped around her body. "No… stop this… Grant!" Her voice became panicked before she was silent.

"Grant… what…" said Aria, sounding scared.

Grant had never needed to use it before. He didn't know what would happen really. But he knew that it would be painful to a psychic type. He was horrified. "Jasmine… I'm so sorry… we… we agreed to make it seem like a bad dream last time, and you don't know the truth… but this…"

"What?"

Grant didn't even realize he was talking to someone who didn't know the truth. "I… she'll never forgive me." He felt hollow after watching Jasmine being tortured by his own hand.

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The moon was right behind the Vaporeon as he turned around, casting a shadow against Kylie. A cold breeze blew, though Kylie hadn't summoned it. "Not even you, Kylie. You are my friend. So this is for all of us." He looked at his watch. "They might not be able to grab the files… but they should escape…" He adjusted his shirt and jacket. "I'm going to have to play with you for ten minutes."

Kylie held out her hand. Not having the handle didn't really matter that much. She formed a frozen blade in her hands. "Then I'll beat you in nineteen."

"Impressive." A blade of water formed in his hand. "Not my regular sword, but this'll do. Compressed water. Should hit as hard as your ice." He pointed it at her. His calm demeanor still existed, but there was an edge to it. "Your move, Kylie."

She let the thought of her sister being dead flow through her. "You'll pay!" She summoned the six spears of ice behind her and launched them at the Vaporeon at full speed.

In a flurry of rapid fire slashes, he cut through every attack cleanly. "So a multi weapon style. No stealing." Behind him formed six blades of water. They flew at her even quicker. She wouldn't be able to stop them, so she simply surrounded herself with Blizzard, and dropped them to the ground. One of the frozen blades cut her ankle, and she yelped in pain, but stayed focused. Once Blizzard subsided, she looked at the Vaporeon. He walked towards her, and she opened her mouth to launch an ice beam attack at him. It froze the Vaporeon solid, his assault halted.

Or so she thought. "I hear Greninjas use a similar technique. But this is something I learned on my own." The Vaporeon spoke from behind her, and when she turned around, she saw about nine or so watery blades orbiting her, all ready to pierce her. He had positioned them all outside of her Blizzard range.

She faced him. She had felt the strength in his attacks, and he had gotten her in a vulnerable spot. She waited for seven seconds. The moment she counted, she lunged at him, sword back, ready to slash him.

She had caught him off guard, and his other blades vanished. He blocked her attack with his own sword, knocking him back a little. "That's more like it," he said raising his sword again.

"Aria needs me! I cannot lose her!"

She flew at him, launching a flurry of slashes and stabs. "You're a fighter all right." He blocked her attacks, matching her in speed. "But do you have the strength?"

As he blocked one attack, she felt a punch to the stomach. It knocked her off balance, and she fell back. She got ready to stand up again, but she felt the tip of the watery blade against her chest. It slowly soaked into her dress. "Please… if we are friends… let me save my sister from your allies."

The sword disappeared into the air. "Your sister will be all right. I promise you. But I cannot let you hold up Aaron and William… and Grant for that matter."

"Grant?"

She tried sitting up, but he shot her a dangerous look. "Don't try it. Grant is in fact working with us."

"What? But… he's my friend…"

"And I didn't ask him to hurt you nor your sister." He looked up. "I felt terrible asking him to lock down Jasmine. He really has feelings for her. But she's a cannon, and we can't have her be loose. Grant is working with us."

"Why?" she whispered. "I thought… he could be trusted."

"He can. We all can be trusted. This is important. Everyone needs to know the terrible things going on." The Vaporeon sighed, and looked at the time. "My colleagues should be out by now. Go check on your precious sister." She hesitantly stood up and he didn't stop her. "Meet me at the restaurant. Tomorrow night. Eight. You didn't show last time. No weapons, tell nobody."

She didn't speak, but simply nodded before running off to her injured sister.

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Jasmine couldn't open her eyes. Or she didn't want to. She felt everything around her; she was lying on the cold ground. She was wearing nothing but her underwear. She had some sort of metal collar on, and there was a chain connecting it to something. Her arms were cuffed to each other. She could feel everything around her.

She had never ended up taking the pill to reduce her sexual tendencies, but they weren't bothering her at all. Who'd have thought that the Umbreon whom she'd wanted to make love with was now the one whose neck she'd delight in strangling? She had figured it out when she was unconscious. He had been working with them. The "dream" she'd had almost two years ago was actually real, and they had come up with some sort of switch to lock her down. And the switch was Grant. But while she had lost her temper, she was still in control enough… or maybe not. But they would have completed the mission. And Grant had decided to stop her. And now she was in a prison. Half naked.

"Jaz? I know you're awake." She heard Grant's voice. She imagined him staring at her. It was probably his idea to make her almost naked. But then again, he had turned down her sensual gifts. "Sorry that you're almost naked. The sealing Dark Pulse rips off all your clothes, so I had to use some extras you kept at my place." She still stayed quiet. "Dressing you wasn't fun. I tried my best not to look, but… well, you know… so I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for what happened. I know it both hurts you physically and shows you your fears. So I won't pry. Just call me… when… you're ready. If you're willing to forgive."

She heard his footsteps as he walked away. She decided to open her eyes. It was very dark, and that was bad for Espeons. The air was damp, but it was still clean. She couldn't tell the time, but her internal clock told her it was maybe morning of the next day.

"Jasmine?"

She turned to her side, happy and sad to see her friend. "Aria… are you okay?"

"Yes… my bones… are actually healing. I'm not sure how though. But I feel better… well, aside from being stripped of my clothes and pride."

"You and me both…"

They were both chained to some metal bars, and they had smartly cuffed Aria to negate her Leaf Blades. "So Grant betrayed us…"

"Well… you were going to kill them both."

"It was all planned. I thought hard about it… and it makes sense. Well, sort of. But Grant had to be with them. Killing them wasn't against the rules."

"But was it right? You could have probably used something less drastic than a boulder…"

"I'm sorry… I sort of lost it. But look. Now they've captured us."

Aria struggled. "It looks like we're completely tied up too. Our arms… and these demeaning collars. I feel like some sort of slut."

Jasmine tried to use some of her powers, but she was pretty worn down from the previous night, and the darkness didn't help either. Where were they exactly? "They're probably just stripping us down for their own entertainment."

"You mean they'll-"

"No, they're not like that… at least, they weren't. But it's not just because they're guys. We all have weapons with us, so it's only smart to get rid of our clothes."

They heard footsteps coming again, and both were quiet.

"We heard you two talking. There's no point trying to hide it." It sounded like William. A light came through, and he was holding a flame above his palm. "Jasmine."

A little behind him was Aaron. His arms were crossed. "Tsk. You almost lost it again." He wasn't wearing his jacket or even a shirt, but most of his left side was covered in bandages. "I should have knocked you out the moment I had a chance to."

Aria spoke now. "Can I have my clothes back please? If you're intending to do something to us, let's get it over with."

Jasmine admired her confidence. Aaron snorted. "You had a broken rib. We were fixing that up. It would've hurt like a bitch if we tried to put your shirt back on after that. We're not cruel, you know."

"Why are we here?" asked Jasmine. "What do you want from us?"

"We figured that just leaving you both there unconscious might be really bad especially if reporters and stuff got in. That could happen, since Aria set off the damn alarm. Besides, leaving Jasmine naked on the ground was not an option," explained William. "Still Jasmine… you could have destroyed the entire facility. That would have screwed us all."

Jasmine hung her head. "So how long has Grant been on your side?"

"For awhile now. He found us all… but he changed his mind once we spoke to him…" murmured Aaron. "Grant… always said that it was for you. He couldn't let you know or else you'd be in more danger."

Jasmine shook her head. "He betrayed me… I… I thought we had something…" No, she wouldn't be disheartened. She would direct her anger at the Umbreon when she saw him.

"Leafeon, are your wounds healing?" asked Aaron.

"I think," was all she said back. She looked at Jasmine. "Her mental state is far poorer…"

"Jaz." A voice came from behind the other two males. It was Grant. "May I speak with you alone?"

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William carried the injured Leafeon out, leaving the Grant and Jasmine alone. She wouldn't look at Grant. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry." He tried to hold her arm, but she pulled away, eyes malicious.

"Don't touch me!" She closed her eyes. "And don't look at me. You don't deserve my respect."

Grant was hurt, but he had expected it. He knew exactly what she was afraid of. "Will you let me explain myself at least?"

"No."

He ignored her. "Firstly… I… I guess you could say that I've always found you attractive. You're… beautiful… sexy… and just… sweet. That's why I couldn't let you join the program alone. Because… I… cared for you." She didn't speak, so he continued. "One time, I was patrolling, looking for Kai. But he was waiting for me. And he told me what he planned to do. If you defected, then more of our species would be modified, and then ostracized. By having you stay there and train them while I kept Kai updated, we were able to put together a plan."

"You expect me to believe that half-assed excuse? I still want to kill you."

"Well… I suppose you are half naked… and it'll be fun."

She stiffened. "What does that mean?"

He grabbed the sides of her stomach playfully. "Say sorry or else."

"Or else what?!" Her eyes were wide. "Is this a rape threat?"

"No. But think of it as a tickle threat."

"T-tickle? What the hell?" Her face became more embarrassed.

Grant laughed. "I know how ticklish you are. So forgive me."

"Get off!" She nudged him away. "I know you're trying to embarrass me."

"It's working too." He sighed, then gave her a little space. "Now will you listen?"

The Espeon blinked, then said, "It really hurt when you did that dark seal thing…"

"I'm… sorry. But it had to be done."

"I know. You all led me to believe it was a dream… why?"

Grant looked down. "I didn't want you to blame yourself. The other four of us made a decision to put you in a dangerous spot. It wasn't your fault."

Jasmine hung her head. "You never told Aria or Kylie…"

"There was no need to." Grant gently pulled out the key, and undid her cuffs. "There…"

She slapped him across the face. "You're still an asshole."

"Ow…" He rubbed his cheek.

"You don't know what goes on inside that dark hell you put me in…" she whispered. "It was…"

He held her hand. "I'm sorry."

"You're lucky you know how to lighten the mood…" She huffed. "You've made me forgive you already…"

"Because I know how you feel for me… and you know that I like you too."

"So only after betraying me you can admit it…"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

The Espeon murmured something, then said, "Can I get my clothes and this damn collar off? You may be able to hurt me, but I can't bring myself to hurt you."

"I'm sorry. Oh right… yeah, I raided your room and found some of your meds."

She looked at them, then smiled. "At least you remembered… I know… I can trust you still. Just a little less now…"

"Hey, it would have been easy to take advantage of you an hour ago, or last night. You can still trust me."

"Yeah, I guess we are partners. Maybe a little bit more than that. But… we need trust. And stop staring!"

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Frost surrounded Kylie's hands. A cold breeze surrounded her as she stood in front of the facility. She had been standing there since the officials had begun to keep the story covered.

But she knew enough. Her sister was gone. Jasmine was gone. Grant was gone. And anything she had to hold onto was gone. She had tried calling them all. She had visited Aria's apartment. But nobody answered.

She had seen the footage on the hidden camera in the garden. They weren't connected to the rest of the frame, and she had watched her two friends suffer. It did confuse her that Grant carried Jasmine away, but she believed the Jolteon and Flareon had made him do that. And her sister… she had looked almost dead.

She clenched her fist, lowering the surrounding area to negative temperatures, freezing a car next to her solid. Ice formed on the ground instantly, and her hair flowed up.

"Kai… this is your fault. You'll pay for this… all of you!"

**Last update for a few months, since I have a job in Japan. Please be patient and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT: SEASIDE CAVE**

Grant sneezed. "Damn… it's rather chilly here, isn't it?"

"Hmm… maybe a little. I mean, we are in a sea cave though, so the air is warm and humid at least." Aaron huffed. "Is Kai back yet?"

"Not as far as I know… is William guarding the entrance?"

"Yes."

The Jolteon sighed. "Did Jaz forgive you?"

Grant rubbed his cheek. "Sort of. I got a big slap to the face though. But I kind of deserved it, I guess. But we sort of made up."

"Well, I hope you're ready… I got a bad feeling that the Glaceon won't be so quick to forgive you."

Grant knew that. Kai had stopped by the cave before going off. He had said that there were a few things he had to set up. And he had revealed the truth about Grant being a double agent. Kylie wouldn't forgive. She was perhaps the most beautiful Pokemon he knew, but more than that, she was determined. She wouldn't stop until she found a way to Grant. "I know… but we should be okay… for now."

"That Glaceon scares me. She's like a female version of Kai. Quiet but ruthless. And I've felt her attacks…" He held his arm. "Damn bitches got me in the same spot twice…" he muttered.

"That's what you get for attacking me." Grant looked out the cave, where William was pacing back and forth. "How's the Leafeon?"

"She's better. I might have shouted at her a little though after she attacked earlier. She just stayed quiet."

Grant sighed. "Take it easy on her. She'll become our ally soon."

"You hope." Aaron crossed his arms. "If she hadn't attacked us, we'd still be here, and your cover wouldn't have been blown. Kai can't plan everything for us."

"I realize this. But they are being ordered to do it. To hunt us. That's their purpose."

"Where's Jasmine?"

"I decided to give her some space. It's a lot to take in, and I decided to give her some space. What about Aria?"

"I locked her in the door. I didn't want to keep her jailed, but she might flee. She did a number on me too, so we don't want her running around. She's probably still feeling weak too…"

Grant looked behind him. "You should let her out of this cave. We could keep an eye on them. Their species heals faster in the sun."

"Of course we do."

The two girls walked around the bend in the cave. "A sea cave… rather unusual for a prison, no?" asked Jasmine.

"Look out there… there's a nice beach just outside… so sunny…" murmured Aria.

"They're injured…" murmured Grant to Aaron. "They're not getting away or fighting back for a few days."

The Jolteon huffed. "All right then, we'll let them get some sun."

Aria smiled, and Jasmine began heading over. "Let's go… I need to recharge," muttered the Espeon.

The Leafeon turned to Grant and Aaron. "You could have killed us. But you didn't…"

"And?" grumbled Aaron.

"Well…" She looked at Grant briefly. "I guess you were on our side the whole time."

Grant hugged her. "Hey, you and your sister are my friends." He didn't dare think about how the Glaceon would come after them.

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"I will find you all. And you will pay."

Kai felt it. The Glaceon's anger directed at him. She believed it was his fault that her sister was missing. And it was. He had told William and Aaron not to leave them there. He knew the Glaceon had a sense of vengeance. That was what Grant had always told him about her. But he also sensed her strength, her untapped potential. It could be crazy, but he needed to talk with her.

Tonight, they were supposed to meet. He doubted she would come, but this time… he decided it would be worth it to wait outside. Even she wouldn't attack him right off the bat.

Kai now stood atop a building next to the facility. There were different police cars and stuff, but only government workers were being let in the building. A few reporters stood outside.

The Vaporeon watched closely. Aaron and William had failed to disable the security online that would let them track the project. As such, it was important that Kai monitored the next potential eon of the program.

There were actually two Sylveons in the city, but only one was a worker, and it had been Kai's idea to knit a relationship between William and her. With Grant already inside, William was the most approachable of the three, and the two had grown quite close.

Kai finally spotted the Sylveon walking into the building. She stopped and talked to one of the guards before running in. Kai silently slid down the rain gutter before landing cleanly. Kylie had actually cut the side of his leg slightly, and it stung even now. It had been awhile since he had been injured to the point of bleeding.

"You look a little worried, Zero One."

Kai froze. Not anybody could sneak up on him. But that voice… Kai drew his sword instantly, spinning around. "Avore."

"Wonderful. I was starting to think that you had forgotten about me." The other Pokemon clapped mockingly. "Assassin Number One, the best, never failed. But never killed either. My god, how can that be?" He was a large Absol, wearing a large white jacket. His heterochromial eyes were blue and red, and he held a black, obsidian sword. "Ever since you've defected, I've been wanting to try end you. But with the disappearance of two of them… there's a need for us to get involved."

Kai held up his sword. "You've always hated me. But tell me… Zero Eight is coming, isn't she?"

"Oh yes. You're too late to stop that. And once Zero Zero comes… well, you'll have to wait."

Kai pushed what he had heard to the back of his mind. Avore was a big immediate threat. "You're not going to listen to me."

"Why should I? Now then… let's begin!"

Kai took a step forward, then was immediately nailed in the chest. He was caught completely off guard. "How…?" He landed unsteadily, feeling the damage already.

"Sucker Punch, bastard." The Absol was already flying at him again, this time with his large sword.

Kai rolled out of the way. He held his chest. The damage was severe. Kai had strong defense for a Vaporeon, but they weren't known for their ability to take physical hits. He hadn't been able to guard himself with acid armor.

"Stand up!"

Kai grit his teeth. Things were bad. He relied heavily on planning for hits, but Avore hadn't known Sucker Punch last time they had fought. The Absol smelled the blood, and Kai knew it. "You should be dead…" Kai spat some blood before pulling himself to his feet. "You tried to kill me. I beat you, and left you."

"Left for the dead. Yes, I know. But I survived. And once I found that you had taken the modifications and had defected… it was the perfect chance." The Absol stood over him. "Now… suffer!" The Absol raised his sword.

Kai had only one chance to escape. Kai prepare himself for the sword, and then the Vaporeon pulled himself up. The sword pierced right through his stomach. Kai didn't scream, but instead stabbed the Absol with his own sword.

"You…" gasped the Absol. "Damn you."

Kai pulled out the sword. His ability to turn parts of his body into liquid saved him this time. It still hurt like hell, but the damage was largely mitigated. He ripped his own blade from the Absol, before clutching his own stomach. "Shit…"

The Absol had regained his composure, and stood up to Kai's horror. "Now then… thankfully, I'm quite pain resistant. Special drug they gave to me when they did some modifications."

Kai backed up. "No… you're not part of the program. You cannot be. Only Eons."

"True." He walked closer. "But I'm as close as you can get."

Kai turned around. The street below was a few stories down. If he timed his liquefaction… it'd hurt, but he could get away with minor injuries.

"If you're thinking about jumping…"

He didn't think about it any more, and jumped down, feeling the Absol's sword pierce his back as he floated in the air briefly.

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Kylie knew what she had to do. She grabbed her sword handle designed by Professor Blaze and tucked it away. She wore her favorite blue dress again, and made sure she was ready. It was time for her date with the Vaporeon. He would pay for everything he had cost her. If she had to, she'd torture him until he revealed the location of where Aria and Jasmine were. She had to save her friend and her sister. Then it'd be Grant's turn. He was the one that she needed to see. Lying to her… torturing her friend… to think she had loved him. Right now, the Glaceon was feeling a little strange though. Her head was sore, and her vision was blurry, despite having her contacts on. She shook her head to get focused again. It was nothing major.

Kylie took the elevator down, ready to meet with the Vaporeon… except he was already there. He lay down on a couch in the main hall. He opened his eyes as the elevator came down. "Kylie."

She clenched her fist, and pulled out her sword. Nobody else was around. She froze the blade and pointed it at him. "You've got nerve, coming to me."

He held up a hand, and Kylie realized it was bloody. His shirt was stained red with blood.

"What happened to you?"

"An old enemy… do you know a Pokemon named Avore? An Absol?"

"Yes… the current top assassin. Wait, were you attacked?"

The Vaporeon flinched. "I was watching your friend… Jen… and then I was surprised."

She walked up to him. "Where are my friends?"

"I cannot take you to them… at least now…" He coughed, and sounded very weak. It was hard to believe this bloody Vaporeon had so easily repelled her just last night. "But I can take you to them." His eyes still had the warm intelligence that had surprised her when they had first met.

"Why are you going to help me now? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

"Because…" He looked at her, then somehow found a way to smile. "You're a cute Glaceon."

Kylie stepped back. "What?!" It was surprising… but it didn't help that she was feeling a little more dizzy now. Something was a little off… but not enough to worry her.

He beckoned her. "I'll take you tomorrow… can… can you take me in?"

She didn't hesitate. Somehow… defeating an injured Vaporeon… just didn't feel right. "Fine. You tell me everything I need to know…"

The Vaporeon tried to stand, but fell over, holding his stomach. He let out a groan, and Kylie immediately rushed to his side. She shouldn't help him. She hated him. But seeing a weak Pokemon… she couldn't help it. She helped him to his feet. "Thanks…" he gasped. "I've been trying to hide from him for a few hours, and I've lost a lot of blood…"

"Easy there." She felt warm on the inside. It was strange to pity the seemingly cool-headed Vaporeon. But that was what she felt. Kylie rubbed her head. She shouldn't be feeling it. She added, "Don't try anything."

He didn't respond, just kept walking as she let him lean against her.

After taking the elevator up and opening her door, she lay the Vaporeon on her couch. "Wait right here." She ran to get her special medical kit before coming back. Once she had it, she set up her stitching needle. "Which one is worse?" She pulled the thread through with her teeth.

"Front first…"

"Well then, off with your shirt." He flinched as he unbuttoned it, then threw the stained blue shirt on the ground. She was impressed by his surprisingly muscular build. He wasn't overly bulging with different muscles, but he did look quite strong. She focused and asked, "Can you use Aqua Ring to clear it a bit?"

He held his hand out, and murmured the move, flinching slightly, but cast it properly. "How's that?"

"Better. I don't have anything to numb the pain with, so you'll have to tough it out."

"Don't worry about me." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Talk with me while you fix it."

She began the work, swiping a q-tip through the gash. "So tell me… why did you come to me? You know that I would be quite angry."

"Obviously. Urf…" He flinched a little. "But I noticed that you were quite friendly towards me. True, you were angry, but before that, you viewed me as a friend. For one night, we were friends, not enemies."

"That's gutsy of you to think that'd make us allies." She poked the needle through his skin, but he didn't move. "You're just lucky."

"Perhaps. But I know enough. You're not a mindless machine. You think for yourself."

"What does that mean?" She cut the thread a little before continuing. "It's not like we're brainwashed. We're trained. We know what we are going to go through before we start. We make all the decisions. Like you chose to betray us."

"I take that back. You make your own decisions, but you're blind." He clenched his fist as she continued to stitch him.

"Blind? As in how? Blind in that I didn't see Grant betray me? Blind as in believing that you weren't my enemy?"

"You don't see what they are doing. Blaze and his team aren't bad guys. But they reveal all their findings to the higher ups. I regret it all," he said bitterly. "I regret joining this hellish program. And that's why I need to make it public. That's the only way to stop it all."

Kylie didn't answer, but simply continued to work. She was feeling pretty out of it, and it took all her concentration to finish stitching up his stomach. She wiped some sweat from her face. It had taken more energy than she had anticipated.

"Are you okay? You're looking a little reddish." The Vaporeon looked better now that the wound was closed. "Are you feeling a little sick?"

She exhaled. "A little. Turn around and show me your back."

He did as she asked, and thankfully, this wound wasn't nearly as bad. "This one doesn't feel as bad."

"It's not… do you know the healing percentages?"

"Kai knows yours. I heal 64% quicker though. I think your healing was similar to ours though."

She began to work on it, ignoring the sickness that had seemed to come upon her. "I'm a little dizzy… sorry if it hurts."

"Be careful. This one doesn't feel as bad, so maybe we could wait."

"No, I'll… I'll be okay."

She continued to stitch up the wound, and neither of them talked much. The Vaporeon was in pain and Kylie had to focus.

About a half hour later, she finished up. "All done. How's that?"

"It's a lot better." He sat up, but she rested a hand on his leg.

"Wait now. That might reopen it."

"I'll be okay." He held her shoulder. "It's nice to see that you don't completely hate me."

"If that was the case, you'd be in a cell or dead."

"I don't doubt that…" he murmured. "But… aren't you failing your objective? You're helping me."

"Don't get the wrong idea." She began heading to her kitchen to wash the bloody hands. "I know you're the only one who knows where Aria and Jasmine are."

The Vaporeon stood up carefully. "Listen… you've just saved my life. I don't know if I could have made it back to the cave with all the wounds. Avore probably would have found me first. So… thank you." He bowed his head slightly.

"Don't thank me yet. I- wait, did you say cave?"

Kai nodded. "I'll take you there first thing tomorrow morning. Would it be okay if I spend the night here?"

"Just… let me go wash up first."

He smiled a little. "Don't worry, I won't bother you."

Kylie exhaled before heading to her bath. It was a fairly large tub, and she had enjoyed stretching out in it. Nothing compared to an ice bath on a hot summer day. It was already early December though, so the weather wasn't too bad. Still, she suspected it was some sort of fever, and she figured that it couldn't hurt to cool off a little.

She undressed, throwing her undergarments on the ground. She looked at her body in the mirror. She still had a few scars from various missions, including a cut from her scuffle with the Vaporeon yesterday.

"What's wrong with me?" Her body was warm, her vision was blurry. "Hate him!" she shouted, closing her eyes and pounding on the wall. "It's his fault!" But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to attack the Vaporeon. He had friends like anyone else. He was just like her. And he had called her cute. Any other Pokemon would have been easy. But not a Pokemon like him.

Then the door opened, and the Vaporeon stepped in. "Kylie?"

She immediately covered her chest. "Kai! What are you doing?"

"I…" He froze, staring at her, before regaining his composure. "I heard pounding and screaming. I figured it would be good to make sure you were okay."

"I'm… okay." She looked at him.

"That's good." He turned around, and got ready to close the door.

"Kai, wait."

He stopped, then looked at her. "I thought you'd be embarrassed, not wanting to have a conversation."

"Earlier… you called me cute. What's wrong with you?"

"I said what came to my mind." He stared at her, and Kylie remembered she was naked. "Although seeing you naked is more than just cute now," he said before closing the door behind him.

"I…" She held her head before stepping into the bath. "What's going on? Where's my shame?!"

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"So you got that nightgown from your sister?" Both of them had finished taking baths.

"Stop staring at me! Yes!"

The Vaporeon turned away. "I'm sorry. Instincts are instincts. You can train a man to be the toughest soldier in the world, but dressing like that…"

She turned around, face reddish. "Jeez…"

He wore his jacket and jeans, neither of which was too bloody. His shirt was drying on her balcony. "It's still only 9:51. Maybe you should drop by the facility and get your sickness checked out."

"I still have to watch over you. You might backstab me… you still need to show me where my friends are."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

There was a brief moment of silence before Kylie murmured, "I haven't had guys over in awhile."

"Is that so?" The Vaporeon wandered around her kitchen, hands in his pockets. "I don't have many female friends either. Maybe the closest was Jasmine." He picked up a cup, frowned a little, then placed it back down. He turned around. "Grant always said you held grudges, but I guess handsome Vaporeons like myself are an exception, no?"

"What are you getting at?" She crossed her arms. "What would that have to do with it?"

The Vaporeon exhaled. "Like I said earlier, you're not heartless. Even with my allies kidnapping your sister and your friend, you couldn't bring yourself to hurt me."

"As if looks have anything to do with it," she grumbled. "Don't get cocky just because you're older than me."

"Kylie… just… I want to thank you for doing this. I know it's not easy for you, and… well, I appreciate it." His voice was quiet yet honest.

"It's… nothing. You saved me from your allies, I save you from mine."

The Vaporeon smiled a little. "I'm intrigued by you. Quiet and intense, but kind. Nobody I've met is like you."

She was surprised, but hid it. "Well then, you go do whatever you want." she waved him away. "You can sleep on the bed, I'll just stay on the couch tonight."

"The couch is bloody. Unless you plan to sleep on my blood, I wouldn't recommend that."

"I-"

The Vaporeon shook his head. "If anything, I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, I… I'm okay with you sleeping with me."

Kai opened his mouth a little, then said, "If you're sure."

"I- I mean, it's not like you… you'd want to do… you know… with me right? Because…"

"I'd do you."

"What?! I…"

He sighed. "Stop fumbling around, and let's get to bed."

She decided that she was reading into things too much, and merely nodded. The two of them stared at each other on her bed a little bit before he turned around and murmured, "Good night," to her.

"Good night," she replied back. She lay in her bed for a little while, unsure of what to do. "I know you defected because you disagreed with what was happening…" she began.

"I… they were planning to corrupt a child. And I couldn't stand by that."

"A child?"

"A genetically engineered child. Featuring different strands of DNA… the best of each species. Which is partially why…" He stopped. "You know a Sylveon named Jennifer, right?"

"Yes?"

"She's next in line. I've been keeping track of her using William."

Kylie blinked. "The Flareon? His name was Li- oh wow… how did I not see it?"

The Vaporeon smiled. "Yes, William is the one who's been keeping track of her. I suspected it, and while we don't have any proof, I'm virtually certain at this point."

Kylie struggled to imagine it. "Jen… as an agent? She's a specialist in managing and represents us publicly, but…"

"I don't know. Maybe she's to help you guys combat us? Or perhaps something else…?" The Vaporeon seemed to be thinking about it. "I mean, they do need to collect the DNA and such, but… there's no doubt in my mind that they need to collect DNA if they're still working on the project. But maybe they've given up. I hope so."

"They haven't asked for any of my blood or tissue even…"

He shook his head. "Forget about it, let's just sleep."

"Okay."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Grant picked up his phone. "What is it, Kai? I was worried. You said you'd be back by 4:00. It's past 9:00."

"Yeah… I'm sorry. I was ambushed."

"Ambushed?" Grant thought immediately to Kylie. "Was it her?"

"No. I'm with her now. She saved me."

Grant paused. "She forgave you?"

"Saving her friends is more important than revenge. She's bathing right now."

"Who attacked you?"

"An old rival. Also a government agent. I managed to shake him, but I got stabbed twice. Her place was the only area I could think of nearby to hide."

Grant huffed. "Anyone else, I'd be worried. Will you be okay?"

"I'm staying with her overnight. I promised to bring her to you guys in the morning." Kai sounded tired, but he added, "How are the two girls doing?"

"They've handled the news surprisingly well. They haven't spoken much of it, but we've done like you asked. Let them get some sun. William went shopping, and the four of us just rested. We didn't talk about it like you asked."

"Good." His voice became a little more serious. "Zero Eight is going to happen soon."

"We don't have the data proof," he responded. "What if nothing's happening?"

"But we can't let another one be created."

"Kai… I know how you feel. But you're the logical one. You must know."

The Vaporeon was silent, before saying, "I know. I'll… hang on, something's happening in the bath. I'll get back to you tomorrow." Then he hung up.

Grant shook his head. "I can't believe Kylie is helping him." He rubbed his face. "I don't think she'd forgive me that quickly."

He watched the ocean rise and fall slowly on the cloudy night. The distant lighthouse was a beacon on the right.

"You and I sure like hanging on the beach, huh?"

Jasmine walked up next to him. He didn't need to look at her. "Yeah."

She looked out across the ocean. "You know… I believe you."

"Believe me? As in what?"

"You know… that we made a decision. A wrong one."

"Kai pointed it out to me." He sighed. "We haven't been assigned too much recently… mainly because their efforts are on retrieving the three of them. I think they're suspicious now."

"And Zero Eight?"

Grant narrowed his eyes. "She's the last piece of this puzzle."

**All done! Got some work in, so it got finished early since I had some time! Read and review!**


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